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DOWNTON ABBEY Christmas Charity Video is Filled with Celebrity Cameos

This coming holiday will be a bittersweet one for fans of British period drama Downton Abbey, as the popular series premieres its final episode ever on Christmas Day on ITV. The annual Christmas Special will serve as the swan song for the series after six highly popular seasons (the final season doesn’t air stateside however until early next year, on PBS). But before Lord Grantham and the rest of the Crawley family pack in the good silver and call it a day, the cast and crew of Downton have recorded a short comedy video in support of ITV’s annual “Text Santa” Christmas charity drive.

Aside from series regulars like Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), and Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton), the ten-minute clip features the residents of Downton auditioning various British television celebrities on their chance to be the next Santa Claus for the Abbey. Well known names who get the chance to audition in this video include actors Jim Broadbent, Michelle Keegan, and Warwick Davis. Most memorable however is Hell’s Kitchen star Gordon Ramsay, who curses up a storm in front of the horrified Downton residents.

At one point in the video, Lord Grantham asks “Who’s booking these guests? Last year we had George Clooney.” He’s not kidding either – last year did indeed feature George Clooney as “Lord Hollywood” in a different charity video featuring Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley and Entourage’s Jeremy Piven, along with Downton cast members Maggie Smith and Lily James. This year’s charity video is slightly less star studded, but no less amusing for Downton fans.

You can watch the full 2015 “Text Santa” charity video below, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Are you prepared to say goodbye to the Crawley Clan? Do you even watch this show anymore? Share your thoughts in the comments below!


HT: Entertainment Weekly
IMAGE: ITV 

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