The Downton Abbey News We've ALL Been Waiting For (Phew)

Downton Abbey's Gareth Neame sheds more light on the show's future. And we all do a sigh of relief...

Downton Abbey has been given a new lease of life thanks to reports that suggest the show WILL continue past series 5.

The show's producer Gareth Neame has rejected reports that the period drama will end this year, after writer Julian Fellowes sparked speculation earlier this week.

'I can confirm there are no plans to end the show after the fifth series,' Neame said. 'ITV commission each series on a year-by-year basis.'

He added: 'In an interview given to the Wall Street Journal Julian Fellowes stated the show would not go on forever (inevitable, of course), and something both he and I have been on the record for previously.

'For now ITV have commissioned series five and that is what we are busy preparing.'

Downton's future looked in doubt following last month's Christmas special, which was watched by 6.6 million, as Fellowes said he couldn't focus on his next project - The Gilded Age - until Downton Abbey had ended.

'Neame will be collaborating with Fellowes again on The Gilded Age - a project that will in due course be developed for NBC Universal - hence there is no conflict between the two projects,' Carnival Films confirmed. 

An average of 11.8 million viewers watched the last series of Downton Abbey, with a new series expected this year.

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