Hugh Bonneville's Downton confusion

Hugh Bonneville has no idea what's in store for the second series of 'Downton Abbey'.

The 47-year-old actor - who plays wealthy heir Lord Grantham in the ITV1 show - is to reprise his role in the next season of the period drama, but has no idea if his alter-ego will even survive until the end of filming.

He said: "I haven't seen a script. I learnt from the newspapers that this series is set a couple of years after the last episode and the house becomes a convalescent home for First World War casualties.

"And I definitely wear uniform because I got fitted for it the other day - but other than that I know nothing. I could get killed."

While he insists he has no idea what the second series has in store, Hugh admits he submitted some plot ideas - but creator Julian Fellowes rejected his idea of opening with the funeral of a dog.

Hugh added: "I did suggest it but, ah, Julian said he'd give me four corgis instead."

Explaining why he was attracted to the show in the first place, Hugh admitted he was hooked on the characters as soon as he started reading the script.

He told Radio Times magazine: "It was one of the most readable scripts I'd ever seen. I really wanted to know what happened to these people."