‘Downton Abbey’ season 5: Hugh Bonneville on finding time for stage

At this point in the fall, we are typically preparing for the next new episode of “Downton Abbey” to come on ITV. However, we are not really getting that opportunity right now. There is no new episode on the network, and there won’t be until Christmas.

Over the past few weeks, there have been quite a few questions in regards to just how much longer the series has ultimately on the air. Can it make it beyond a season six? There’s a part of us that doesn’t want it to, and not because we are worried about quality. Instead, it is a reference more towards our desire that the show stay as strong as possible. We don’t want to see is slow down, and become something less than what it should be.

What we do know is that the moment the series ends, we could be seeing a whole lot more of Hugh Bonneville doing something that he very much considers to be his first love: Performing on the stage. Speaking in a chat with the Belfast Telegraph, the actor had the following message to pass along about how there have been some other projects that have kept him away from it:

“A lot of it’s been timing … What with doing Downton six months of the year, and then [the sitcom] W1A, and then opportunities like Paddington, there hasn’t been much time available. I’m offered quite a few plays that involve white tie and tails and I don’t really want to do that now. I want to give up my stiff collar next time I’m on stage.”

We do think that will happen for Hugh, but he may have to wait until his schedule clears a little.

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