Downton Abbey fans were recently treated to the prospect of a third movie coming to our screens – something which was confirmed by one of the film's stars, Imelda Staunton.
However, on Thursday morning, lead actress Michelle Dockery - who plays Lady Mary Crawley in the beloved TV-turned-movie franchise - was quizzed about the recent revelation during a chat on Lauren Laverne's 6 Music show.
Asked whether there will be a third Downton Abbey film, Michelle seemed surprised by Imelda's slip. She said, "Did she? She did? Oh well, there's not much more I can tell ya! You'll have to ask Julian [Fellowes]."
Chatting with Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 the day before, Imelda - who appears as Lady Maud Bagshaw - remarked: "There will be the final film – there you go."
"Wow, that's pretty huge. I hope we haven't got you in trouble," quipped Zoe, to which Imelda said: "I don't care." Zoe added: "You don't care anyway. You're wild like that and I love it! You get to that point in life and you're like, 'I don't care anyway.'"
Having garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards, Downton Abbey first premiered back in 2010 and ran for six seasons until its end in 2015. Four years later, the drama moved to the big screen with a spin-off film, which was followed by a second feature in 2022.
Meanwhile, Michelle is set to star in another period drama called This Town. The new series details the lives of four young people who form a band in the early 80s against the backdrop of violence and are "fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers".
Speaking about the new drama, which will be released on 31 March, Michelle explained how she loved the change of location, filming in Birmingham rather than the countryside.
"I love this period, I was born in the eighties – I loved getting into the costumes of that time, and be surrounded by those sets," she told radio host Lauren. "We were all sort of obsessed with the props on this show because it was so nostalgic. It really was for me – to be sat in those rooms with things I really recognised from my childhood."
She added: "For me to be shooting somewhere like Birmingham was really special. My sister actually lived there for a few years, so I spent some time there when I was a teenager. For me, it was great to be out of beautiful country houses, and filming somewhere like Birmingham – it was very much like my childhood, that's how I felt."
Leading the cast of This Town, which has been created by Steven Knight – the brains behind Peaky Blinders and SAS Rouge Heroes – are Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose and Eve Austin.