'Downton Abbey' Final Season Trailer Released

Maggie Smith stars in Downton Abbey as Violet Crawley,
Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning drama Downton Abbey returns to PBS for a sixth and final season of intimately interlaced stories centered on an English country estate in January 2015. The show, which the highest-rated drama in PBS history, premieres on September 20 in the UK.

Making their bittersweet farewell are members of the beloved cast, including Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Penelope Wilton, Phyllis Logan, Laura Carmichael, Brendan Coyle, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Kevin Doyle, Samantha Bond, David Robb, Raquel Cassidy and Michael Fox.

The UK's ITV network has released a trailer for the final season. Watch it below:

Virgin Atlantic and ITV Partner For In-Flight Soap Opera Viewing

Virgin Atlantic and ITV have struck an agreement which will allow passengers on international flights to catch-up on soap operas CORONATION STREET and EMMERDALE.

"Soaps are the cornerstone of ITV's prime time schedule and a key driver of national conversation up and down the country,” explained Martin Goswami, director of Pay and Distribution at ITV on the 'first-of-its-kind' deal.

"We are thrilled to have teamed up with Virgin Atlantic to offer this brand new and exciting service enabling their soap loving passengers to catch up on any episodes they have missed on board their flights."

The service launches this month, with new episodes available every Tuesday.

DOWNTON ABBEY Season 4 Trailer

The fourth season of DOWNTON ABBEY will premiere soon on ITV in the UK, and on PBS in January here in the United States. Check out the new Season 4 trailer below.

Don Black Previews DOWNTON ABBEY Theme Song With Lyrics (Audio)

Legendary lyricist Don Black discusses penning lyrics to the iconic theme song of international period-set hit series DOWNTON ABBEY and previews the atmospheric and moody new song in a new interview.

"Did I make the most of loving you? / So many things we didn't do / Did I give you all my heart good healing?" sings an ethereal operatic soprano (Mary-Jess) in the preview clip, giving voice to a the recent plight of Lady Mary with the passing of her husband while in young motherhood - a plot point upon which the premiere episode of Season Four of the series will purportedly center, though this song was actually penned prior to the events of last season.

CORONATION STREET's William Roache: 'I Strenuously Deny' Rape Allegations

A longtime star of British soap opera CORONATION STREET has vowed to fight charges he raped a 15-year-old girl in 1967.

William Roache said in a statement Thursday he is "deeply horrified" by the charges and "strenuously" denies them.

"I am astounded and deeply horrified by the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours. I strenuously deny the allegations and will now focus my full attention on fighting to preserve my innocence in the challenging times ahead. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those people who have offered me their support and good wishes at this difficult time."

Dan Stevens Leaving DOWNTON ABBEY (Spoiler Alert)

Dan Stevens

ITV has released the following statement addressing its recently aired DOWNTON ABBEY Christmas special and actor Dan Stevens' impending exit from the show (major spoiler alert ahead for U.S. Viewers):

"After three successful series and two Christmas editions of DOWNTON ABBEY, Dan Stevens decided not to renew his contract beyond the initial three years he had been contracted.

"We wish him every success for the future. Michelle Dockery will be returning to her role as Lady Mary in series four which begins production in February.

DOWNTON ABBEY Renewed For Fourth Season

DOWNTON ABBEY will return to ITV1 in 2013 for a fourth season of the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning drama. Filming of eight new episodes for Fall 2013 plus an extended special episode for Christmas 2013 begins at Highclere Castle and Ealing Studios in February next year.

Season 3 aired in the UK this fall and will premiere on PBS in the United States in January 2013.  A 90-minute special airs on PBS on Sunday, November 25.

The opening and closing episodes will again be feature length with season four continuing the story of the Crawley family and their servants in the early 1920s.

Indian Character on DOWNTON ABBEY? Maggie Smith Leaving?

Julian Fellowes, DOWNTON ABBEY's creator, said that he would like to introduce black or Indian characters into the program.

When asked about criticism in some quarters that DOWNTON, which concluded its third season on ITV in the UK last night, does not contain any black characters, the writer said it would be “rather nice to open it up ethnically a bit”.

He told The Daily Telegraph: "Oh I think that’s rather a good idea. You have to work it in in a way that is historically believable, but I am sure we could do that. [The show] certainly ought to have an Indian character from that period."

DOWNTON ABBEY Prequel In The Works

Julian Fellowes, speaking at a British Academy Film and Television Academy screenwriters lecture, said he is writing a prequel to DOWNTON ABBEY that follows how the Earl and Countess of Grantham -- played by Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern in the current now -- first met.

Fellowes' plans, reported on the BBC News website (the show airs on ITV in the U.K.), will be to look at the pair's early courtship from the American heiress' arrival in the U.K.