Filming on a new series of Downton Abbey has begun in secret.
The period drama – the last episode of which aired just over eight years ago – is making a surprise comeback in a seventh series.
Bosses were hoping to bring back some of the big names such as Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern and Joanne Froggatt, who appeared in the previous six seasons and two film spin-offs.
Although it is not known whether they have all signed up, the chefs are said to be ‘delighted’ with their casting.
The return of the show, which was filmed at Highclere Castle in Hampshire and covered the many social changes and world events between 1912 and 1928, is expected to hit the screens at the end of this year.
The cast of the first season of Downtown Abbey, which premiered in 2010, is pictured above
For the new season, bosses were hoping to bring back some of the big names, such as Hugh Bonneville (left), Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern (right) and Joanne Froggatt, who appeared in the previous six seasons and two film spin-offs.
It is understood it will appear on ITV, where it aired from 2010 to 2015.
Old episodes of Downton are getting strong viewing on the channel’s streaming platform ITVX, so TV insiders are expected to do what they can to stop the film going to rivals like Netflix or Amazon.
A source close to the project told the Mail: ‘Filming has been going on for a few weeks now, it’s all very, very secret. There are people working on it who have never seen such secrecy.
‘Those working on set have to sign non-disclosure agreements so they don’t give the game away, but there is a lot of excitement about Downton’s return.
‘It was such a big success before and there are so many more stories to tell. It seemed such a shame not to be able to make more of them, but they did it.’
The Mail on Sunday revealed last May that bosses were hoping to revive the series and in December creator Julian Fellowes did not rule out its return when asked if it would make a comeback.
He told Radio Times: ‘I’ve said goodbye to Downton so many times and I’ve written the last scene about six or seven times. Now I’m in the habit of making permanent statements about whether it’s gone.
“I just think it’s really nice that so many people enjoyed it, so to feel like you’ve made a show that makes people happy and that they had a good time with it, that’s great for me.”
The final episode of the show – which acted as a launching pad for the careers of Mrs Dockery, who played Lady Mary, Lily James, who played Lady Rose, and Jessica Brown Findlay, who played Lady Sybil, aired on Christmas Day 2015. with a viewing figure that peaked at 7.4 million.
In the finale, viewers saw Edith – played by Laura Carmichael – and Bertie, played by Harry Hadden-Patton, finally get married on New Year’s Eve 1925.
The last series was followed by two films, one in 2019 and the other in 2022.