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Another Downton Abbey star confirms they WON’T be in the movie

Another Downton Abbey star confirms they WON’T be in the movie

Though to be fair, this one’s not a massive surprise

Downton Abbey

ITV

Huw Fullerton

Published: Sunday, 11 November 2018 at 2:48 pm

With filming for the long-awaited Downton Abbey movie underway, fans are already excited to catch up with the Crawley family and their staff years after the drama ended its run on ITV.

However, a few cast members (including Mamma Mia’s Lily James) have already confirmed they won’t be involved in the big-budget version of the story – and now it's been revealed that Outlander and Eragon star Ed Speleers is one of them.

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"I didn't get the call, unfortunately," Speleers said on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.

"To be fair, I'm doing Rain Man so I wasn't able to do it. I don't think it would be right for my character to come back anyway."

Speelers played footman James “Jimmy” Kent for three series of Downton Abbey, before leaving the show in the 2014 Christmas special (just before its final series the year after) – so it’s not exactly a big surprise that they didn’t bring him back for the movie. He hadn't been in it for a while when it finished anyway!

Still, there's no hard feelings, with Speleers adding that the series was an "amazing gig" for him "on both a personal and a professional level".

"I never went to drama school," he explained.

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"I felt that that job was in many respects my drama school."

And now, he’s more than happy to sink his teeth into another period drama role - that of Outlander’s new villain Stephen Bonnet.

"It's a little bit removed from what I've done before," he said of his part in the time-travel romance.

"It's been a great role, a great show and part."

Who needs movie stardom anyway?

Downton Abbey will be released on September 13, 2019 in UK cinemas

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

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