Downton Abbey movie: Hugh Bonneville says 'show me the money' to big screen spin-off

Bonneville would be interested in taking the Earl of Grantham to cinemas

Hugh Bonneville as Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey

Hugh Bonneville has not ruled out the possibility of starring in a Downton Abbey movie once the hit period drama comes to an end next year.

The British actor, known for playing Robert, Earl of Grantham in the ITV series, would consider taking his character to the big screen if creator Julian Fellowes gives a film the go-ahead.

“I don’t know, I mean show me the money. Show me the script, more importantly,” he told the Press Association at the Bafta Television Awards on Sunday night.

“Where there’s a will there’s a way and I know that Julian has enough ink left in his pen.”

Bonneville was nominated for Male Comedy Performance for his role in W1A but lost out to Matt Berry for Toast of London.

The 51-year-old has “mixed feelings” about Downton ending after its sixth and final series. “It’s become such a part of all our lives both in front of the camera and behind,” he said.

“But I’m really pleased Julian has known when to finish it, to quit while you’re ahead, while it still seems a lovely thing, and hopefully it will be around on people’s shelves for years to come, but it’s the right time to finish.”

There will be a Downton Abbey Christmas special for series six (ITV)

Fellowes himself has previously said that “the most important thing is to make sure Downton is well-formed, comes to an end at the right time and is not lured into the usual thing of trying to keep something going past its time.”

Downton is the highest-rating British period drama of the past decade, with an average of 11 million viewers over the course of its five series and Christmas specials.

Whether Fellowes would have time in his busy schedule to script a Downton movie remains in doubt, however, as he is set to start work on a New York period drama, The Gilded Age.