Did you know that Hugh Bonneville, aka Downton Abbey's Earl of Grantham, once made an appearance on EastEnders? Yep, all the way back in 1995, he played a headmaster for a single episode, and now he's said he definitely wouldn't rule out heading back 'dahn the E20, guv'nah'.
"I might go back. I am a jobbing actor and I will take wahetevr comes along, thank you very much. I would never say never" he told The Mirror."The actors who work in soaps are the hardest-working actors. The amount of material they have to learn is so much. It's phenomenal."
Bonneville was speaking not long after Downton creator Julian Fellowes hinted that he might be putting the show on the backburner to focus on his new American period drama, The Gilded Age. He's hoping the show will be picked up by the American networks, and even had his sights set on Gwyneth Paltrow for one of the lead roles. "I honestly don't know how long Julian can go on with Downton - I don't know if there will be a fifth series," Bonneville said.
We'd love to see the Earl of Grantham chilling in the Queen Vic. Perhaps they could cast him as yet another Branning brother? Y'know, with a peroxide blonde wife and a few illegitimate kids in tow? Or, how about the Square's bit of posh? They could do with some of that now couldn't they...
