Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville hints at show spin-off

Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville has suggested a spin-off from the show may not be out of the question.

While the TV series came to an end seven years ago, it has since produced two movies, the most recent – A New Era – coming out only a few months ago.

The Lord Grantham actor admitted that a third big screen outing may not happen, though did hint at a possible spin-off of some sort.

Related: Downton Abbey stars praise Maggie Smith following A New Era release

"I don't know [if we'll see more]," he told the Radio Times.

"I know there's a whole world of fandom that creates all the fictions of what happened before, or after and sideways from our stories, but there's only really one story creator and that is Julian Fellowes, so I don't know where he would take his characters next or which aspect of these characters' lives he'd like to explore."

The actor continued: "That's up to him, if indeed there are any more iterations to come. But I can see that there's a whole world of renewed interest in this era, certainly in the last ten years there's been a revived interest in historical drama.

"And so there are any number of avenues that could be explored."

We wonder what sort of avenues those could be?

Related: Downton Abbey 2 star opens up about A New Era's devastating ending

Reflecting on A New Era, which introduced a number of new characters in the family, Bonneville said: "That was a really lovely new direction for the story to go.

"And obviously it took us overseas, which was even more fun. Julian draws on so many different strands of his own experience and other stories, and weaves them all together into these tapestries that he does to give everyone a little moment in the sun. And for Robert to be able to question his own existence in a way was really interesting."

It comes after Bonneville suggested back in June that Downton had "run its course", dashing hopes of a third movie.

"I think that was a good time to quit. I don't know. I'm never gonna second-guess the future, but did think for a while, 'Actually, yeah, why not, let's keep going'," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

"But I do think it could get a bit thin. I think the second film was such a joyous one and such a good note on which to end the story. And it does feel like it can end. There's still open doors in it, but I think it might be the right time to stop."

Downton Abbey: A New Era is now out to buy as a digital download.

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Sam Warner

Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.