DOWNTON ABBEY's Julian Fellowes on Dan Stevens' Departure

He goes on to explain that the producers wanTed Stevens to remain on the show for only a few more episode, to send Crawley off in a proper way that was sure to please fans.

"My thinking was if we had him for another three episodes he could have a foreign posting," Fellowes said. "But he wasn't prepared to do that."

Click here to read the original report.

Written and created by Fellowes, the series won an impressive six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe in its first season. Recent honors for Season 2 include multi-category nominations from the Critics' Choice Awards and from the Television Critics Association.

The cast also includes Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and a host of others, joined by Shirley MacLaine (Oscar for Best Actress, Terms of Endearment), who plays Martha Levinson, the very American mother of Cora, Countess of Grantham (McGovern).

Related Links

Sophie McShera in Talks to Join Holliday Grainger as Stepsister in Kenneth Branagh's CINDERELLA June 11, 2013

Dan Stevens to Star in Indie Film THE GUEST June 11, 2013

Dan Stevens Sheds 30 Pounds for New Role June 11, 2013

BIG BANG THEORY, BREAKING BAD Among Top Winners of 3rd Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards June 11, 2013

Holliday Grainger to Play Stepsister in Kenneth Branagh's CINDERELLA June 10, 2013