ITV Announce Another Series of Downton Abbey in 2012

ITV has announced that it has commissioned eight brand-new episodes of Downtown Abbey, a wildly successful series created and written by Julian Fellowes and produced by Carnival Films.

The first episode aired on ITV1 in September of 2010. An average of 11.5 million viewers tuned in to the first six episodes of the current series, making Downtown Abbey the most popular drama series on UK television for the past ten years.

Set in the early 20th century, the show follows the lives of the Crawley family and the servants employed by them.

Much of the cast will be returning in the next season, including Rob James-Collier, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Penelope Wilton, Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Findlay Brown, Phyllis Logan, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggat, Siobhan Finneran, Brendan Coyle, Amy Nuttal, Allen Leech and Lesley Nicol.

The third series in this drama will once again be written by Emmy and Oscar award winning writer, Julian Fellowes.

Gareth Neame will be working with Fellowes as executive producers of this smashingly successful series. Liz Trubridge will be working with them as a producer for a third time and the next season promises to be as exciting and gripping as the previous years.

Laura Mackie, ITV’s Director of Drama Commissioning and Sally Haynes, Controller of Drama Commissioning are responsible for commissioning this next instalment and said:

“We’re absolutely delighted to be bringing Downtown Abbey back for a third series, as we follow the inhabitants of Downtown as they move into the roaring 20s.”