The announcement of the second Downton Abbey movie will come as good news to the people of Bampton.

The village doubled as the fictional northern village of Downton in the hit ITV series.

Some of the most famous scenes were shot there, including Lady Mary’s wedding to Matthew Crawley which was filmed at St Mary’s Church while Church Close became the village green.

And fans of the period drama dramatically boosted the tourist trade, helping to pay for the transformation of The Old Grammar School – which doubled as the cottage hospital – into a high-tech community hub.

Downton Abbey: A New Era, set for release on March 18 2022, continues the saga of the wealthy Crawley family and those who serve them at their English country estate.

Downton creator Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay and My Week with Marilyn director Simon Curtis is helmed it.

All the original cast Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle and Joanne Froggatt appeared in the 2019 movie and are back for the sequel.

Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West have also joined the cast.