Downton Abbey cast head to New York and pose for fun Twitter photo

Five of Downton Abbey’s key characters got into the Christmas spirit on a visit to the Big Apple

The hotly-awaited Downton Abbey Christmas special is fast approaching and while we count down the days (make that minutes) until we get our next instalment, the cast have been celebrating in New York.

FIRST LOOK: DOWNTON ABBEY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Hugh Bonneville who plays Lord Grantham, shared a fun photo on Twitter of the cast taking the New York subway and managed to find a tribute to Downton on one of the signs.

Posing with Robert James-Collier (Thomas Barrow), Joanna Froggatt (Anna Bates), Sophie McShera (Daisy Robinson) and Brendan Coyle (John Bates) Hugh playfully covered the ‘w’ in the Downtown sign to ensure they felt at home.

When they weren’t posing for pics, the actors watched their first ever basketball game, where the New York Knicks took on Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden. Clearly the cast love to lark about but they knuckled down to a little work as they promoted season three of Downton Abbey in America.

DAN STEVENS TO STAR IN JUST ONE MORE EPISODE OF DOWNTON ABBEY

The Christmas special sees the Granthams ditch Downton and head to the Highlands of Scotland for a summer break, leaving the servants to run riot in their absence. And we’ll also get introduced to a few more colourful characters.

If a Christmas special won’t be enough to fill your Downton void, you can now get excited about another upcoming period drama from the show’s creator, Julian Fellowes. He’s announced plans for a new show based on the Gilded Age of New York City. We.Can’t.Wait.

Are you excited for the Downton Abbey Christmas special? Let us know below.

Watch Michelle Dockery discuss her wedding scenes and disover how the storylines are kept secret in our video:

MARIE CLAIRE CHAT TO DOWNTON’S ED SPEELERS (JIMMY KENT) DOWNTON ABBEY SERIES THREE PICTURES