Downton Abbey will return for one more season, with filming for the seventh season beginning amid its surprise homecoming.

“‘Filming has been going on for a few weeks now, it is all very, very secret,” a person close to the production told the Mail. “There are people working on it who have never seen secrecy like it.”

The insider said that the cast members working on the set “have been made to sign non-disclosure agreements so that they don’t give the game away,” and that there is “a lot of excitement at the return of Downton.”

“It was such a huge success before and there are so many more stories to be told,” the person said. “It seemed such a shame not to be able to make more of it but they’ve made it happen.”

Speculation over the comeback of the period drama began in May 2023, when The Mail on Sunday reported that Downton Abbey’s producers hope to relaunch the show.

Furthermore, when asked about a possible return, inventor Julian Fellowes did not rule anything out.

Bosses also hoped to bring back original cast members Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, and Joanne Froggatt.

However, it is uncertain whether they have all signed up for the comeback.