SILVER SCREEN
Iconic period drama WILL return to screens after 8 years as filming of long-awaited comeback secretly starts
The creator of the show revealed he wrote the much-waited ending at least five different times
ICONIC period drama Downton Abbey is making a surprise comeback after eight long years.
Filming has secretly begun for the long-awaited series as it is set to return for a final season - and is expected to run at the end of the year.
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A close source to the project told the : "Filming has been going on for a few weeks now, it is all very, very secret. People are working on it who have never seen secrecy like it.
"Those working on the set have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements so that they don't give the game away but there is a lot of excitement at the return of Downton.
"It was such a huge success before and there are so many more stories to be told, it seemed such a shame not to be able to make more of it but they've made it happen."
While the full casting for the final season of the much-loved show is not known yet, the production team is said to be "thrilled" with the set of actors.
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Fans will hope to see some of the big names such as Hugh Bonneville, Joanne Froggatt and Elizabeth McGovern who all appeared in the previous six seasons and the two spin-off movies.
The seventh season of Downton Abbey will be broadcast on ITV where it ran from 2010 until 2015, it has been understood.
In May, The Sun revealed that Downton Abbey could return for another season.
Rumours swirled that the show was set for its big comeback almost eight years after it ended following its sixth season.
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Creator of the show Julian Fellowes, who has instead been busy working on his new HBO series The Gilded Age, told TalkRadio: “I have said goodbye to Downton so many times, and I have written the last scene about six or seven times.
“Now I’ve got out of the habit of making permanent statements whether it's gone.
“It just gives me a lot of pleasure that so many people enjoyed it, so to feel that you created a show that cheers people up and they had a good time with it, I love that.”
It was reported that the production company were hoping to attract the stars playing the Crawley family back, including Hugh Bonneville, and Michelle Dockery.
An insider told the Mail on Sunday at the time: "There is a plan which is in development and there is a lot of excitement about it.
"There is casting taking place, and it would be great if all of the big stars can return.
"People loved Downton. It became a British institution and it has been much missed since it left our screens.
"There is huge excitement around this project. It was a Sunday night favourite and got huge viewing figures. There has been very little to compete with it ever since it ended."
Set in the 20th century, the first six seasons of the British drama are based on the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey - and depict the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants.
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The final episode of the popular show was aired on Christmas Day in 2015 - and the production house as well as ITV announced it would be the final season of the much-loved show.
Following the iconic plot of Downton Abbey, two movie spin-offs were later created in 2019 and 2022 because of the immense popularity of the British show.
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