What have the Downton Abbey cast been doing since the release of the first film?

Downton Abbey (Ian West/PA)

A sequel to the Downton Abbey film is to arrive in cinemas later this year.

Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West will join the film’s original cast.

Here the PA news agency takes a look at what some of the stars of the first film have done since it was released in 2019.

– Michelle Dockery

Michelle Dockery (Ian West/PA)

The actress, who played Lady Mary Crawley in Downton, is to star as a barrister in upcoming Netflix drama Anatomy Of A Scandal.

The programme is an adaptation of Sarah Vaughan’s novel of the same name, which follows a Westminster politician whose marriage begins to unravel after he is accused of sexual misconduct, while his wife fights to prove his innocence.

Dockery also starred in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film The Gentleman, alongside Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant.

– Hugh Bonneville

Last year saw Bonneville star in festive film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.

During the pandemic he also starred in lockdown comedy Staged alongside David Tennant and Michael Sheen.

Bonneville, who plays the Earl of Grantham in Downton, has also been volunteering at a coronavirus vaccination centre during the pandemic.

– Jim Carter

Jim Carter (Matt Crossick/PA)

Carter, who plays Charles Carson in Downton, starred in 2019 film The Good Liar alongside Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen.

During the pandemic the actor has also hosted a charity quiz with his wife Imelda Staunton.

The couple also performed in a virtual Christmas show together last year, which featured music, sketches and poetry.

– Imelda Staunton

Imelda Staunton (Matt Crossick/PA)

Staunton has been cast as the Queen in series five of Netflix’s royal drama The Crown.

She will take over the role from Olivia Colman and star opposite Jonathan Pryce, who is playing the Duke of Edinburgh.

Last year the actress, who played Lady Maud Bagshaw in Downton, also starred in a performance of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads for the BBC.

– Dame Maggie Smith

Dame Maggie Smith (Ian West/PA)

Harry Potter star Dame Maggie has been cast in upcoming films The Miracle Club and A Boy Called Christmas.

In 2019, following the release of Downton, Dame Maggie was awarded her fifth Natasha Richardson Award for best actress for her performance as Goebbels’ secretary in A German Life, at the Evening Standard’s Theatre Awards.

That year Dame Maggie, who played Violet Crawley in Downton, also told the ES magazine that her role in the period drama “wasn’t what you’d call satisfying”.