‘Downton Abbey’ season 6 spoilers: Hugh Bonneville confirms Christmas Special coming

While it may not be 100% clear at the moment whether or not “Downton Abbey” season 6 is going to be the last one for the series, there is something that we can very much say with confidence: There will at least be a Christmas Special once again.

This news was confirmed by series star Hugh Bonneville (Robert) in a new interview with Digital Spy, which means that there are nine installments to the upcoming season in total. In a way, it will feel like more given that both the premiere and the special tend to be considerably longer than the standard 60-65 minute runtime (including commercials). Bonneville also was asked to briefly describe the story moving forward, and he gave just about as general of a take as possible:

“We’re in 1925, so the series has nudged on another six months, and Lady Rose has been on her honeymoon and she’s now moved to America … Tom Branson has gone to Boston, and some faces that we met towards the end of the fifth season may or may not be coming over the horizon to break or make the hearts of Lady Mary and Lady Edith and people like that.”

Despite Tom’s departure, there are still some indications that we could see Allen Leech on the series again. We certainly know that he would like to be back. We also would not rule out Lily James, though that may depend in part on her schedule given what she is up to at present promoting “Cinderella.” That movie could actually launch her towards becoming the most-famous person to appear on this show.

Season 6 will premiere on ITV in September most likely, and then in America in early 2016. We should know by the fall if this is the final season.

To receive some additional TV updates on all we cover sent right to you, be sure to sign up now for our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ITV.)