Bafta Tribute For Downton Abbey

Bafta Tribute For Downton Abbey
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ITV's hit period drama Downton Abbey will be honoured by Bafta with a special award at a tribute night attended by its cast and crew.

The show, filmed at Highclere Castle, has been a worldwide hit and regularly pulls in 11 million viewers in the UK.

It features a mixture of established stars including Dame Maggie Smith and helped launch the careers of actors including Michelle Dockery, Lily James and Dan Stevens.

The show, which ends this year, follows the fortunes of the Crawley family, and the people who work for them, from the sinking of the Titanic through the First World War and beyond.

It has also featured guest appearances by names including Kiri Te Kanawa, Shirley MacLaine and - in a sketch for an ITV charity show - George Clooney.

Bafta said the tribute, on August 11, would be broadcast on ITV later this year.

Its chief executive Amanda Berry OBE said: "I am delighted that Bafta is paying tribute to Downton Abbey, an extraordinary series that has flown the flag for British drama since 2010. Our tribute will take us backstage with the cast and crew to reveal what's made it both a national treasure and a global phenomenon."

Executive producer Gareth Neame said: "As Downton Abbey moves towards its conclusion with the final season this autumn, I speak for the entire cast and crew when I say how honoured we are that the Academy will recognise the show with this special award.

"Not only is Downton a much-loved show in Britain, it has had huge success in both the US and right around the world, waving the flag for Britain and our creative content and that's why the Bafta recognition means so much to us all."