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Downton Abbey returns in musical form with Carson the butler as host

The Downton Abbey concert will take place at Highclere Castle, where the show was filmed - Geoff Pugh
The Downton Abbey concert will take place at Highclere Castle, where the show was filmed - Geoff Pugh

Before Downton Abbey: The Film comes Downton Abbey: The Musical Extravaganza.

The makers of the period drama are whetting appetites for the big screen reunion by staging a live concert in the grounds of Highclere Castle - setting for Downton - and hosted by Jim Carter.

He will appear in character as Carson the butler, with music performed by the Chamber Orchestra of London and the Downton composer, John Lunn, on piano. In addition to the famous theme tune, the show will feature other music from the series, including performances of If You Were The Only Girl In The World and I’ll Count The Days.

“Music is, subtly, a very big part of Downton Abbey, from that very recognisable opening theme onwards. There was a fair bit of live music in the piece - a jazz band, bands at balls and parties - and this will bring it to the forefront.

“It will be a nice link between the series finishing and the film opening in September, and it will hopefully get people excited for the film," Carter said. The concert will take place on June 22.

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When Carter signed up to reprise his role in the Downton film, he expected to welcome some new faces to the cast. He didn’t expect one of them to be his wife.

Carter had no idea that the producers planned to cast Imelda Staunton, his wife of 35 years.

“It was a surprise to  both of us when the offer came in. She said, ‘You’ll never guess what’s happened. They’ve sent me the script of Downton,’” the actor said.

“We only had two days filming together and we never spoke to each other - well, our characters never did. She was playing somebody posh.” The couple last worked together a decade ago in Cranford, the BBC series.

The film is set in 1927-28, a year after the television series ended. It will open next September and reunites most of the original cast members, including Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess. Staunton is said to be playing a cousin of the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville).

Imelda Staunton - Credit: Matt Crossick/PA
Imelda Staunton will play an aristocratic visitor in the Downton film Credit: Matt Crossick/PA

Carter said audiences will notice heightened production values on the big screen. “The women’s clothes in the film are off the scale, unbelievable. It’s a film so everything is revamped, everything is just a bit bigger,” he said.

Film versions of British television shows have often flopped, but Carter said Downton would be different. “It’s easier to do with a drama than with a comedy - On The Buses, Dad’s Army, things like that - because it’s impossible to expand a half-hour comedy into a film.

“But Downton had cinematic qualities to it. And it’s not a cynical exercise in making money, I think there was a genuine desire from people to see a film and that didn’t seem to be dying down so we thought, well, it seems perverse in a way not to do it if people really want to see it.”

Carter said there had not yet been any discussion about a sequel “but I guess if it goes down well and if it’s a genuine success, I’m sure people will entertain that thought.”

:: Tickets for Music From Downton Abbey go on general sale on Friday 14 December 2018 at 9am at LiveNation.co.uk