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| Dame Kiri to star in Downton Abbey episode | Dame Kiri to star in Downton Abbey episode |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Opera star Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is to star in an episode of ITV's hit series Downton Abbey, while veteran US star Shirley MacLaine is rejoining the cast. | Opera star Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is to star in an episode of ITV's hit series Downton Abbey, while veteran US star Shirley MacLaine is rejoining the cast. |
| The fourth season will see New Zealand-born Dame Kiri play a house guest and she will sing during her visit. | The fourth season will see New Zealand-born Dame Kiri play a house guest and she will sing during her visit. |
| MacLaine is playing Martha Levinson, the mother-in-law of the Earl of Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville. | |
| The series has won nine Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the ensemble cast. | The series has won nine Emmys, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the ensemble cast. |
| This was the first time the cast of a British television show has won this award. | This was the first time the cast of a British television show has won this award. |
| It was also named best drama at the National Television Awards earlier this year. | It was also named best drama at the National Television Awards earlier this year. |
| The show's producers also confirmed that Siobhan Finneran, who plays vindictive housemaid Sarah O'Brien, is leaving the show. | The show's producers also confirmed that Siobhan Finneran, who plays vindictive housemaid Sarah O'Brien, is leaving the show. |
| Other new actors joining the cast include veteran actress Harriet Walter, who recently played Brutus in an all-female production of Julius Caesar, and former EastEnders star and theatre actor Nigel Harmon. | Other new actors joining the cast include veteran actress Harriet Walter, who recently played Brutus in an all-female production of Julius Caesar, and former EastEnders star and theatre actor Nigel Harmon. |
| Returning actors on the show include Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter and Brendan Coyle. | Returning actors on the show include Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter and Brendan Coyle. |