DOWNTON Abbey fans lamenting the end of the hugely popular period drama can look forward to an evening with its stars in Southampton this weekend.

Nuffield hosts a special evening with two major cast members of the internationally-acclaimed ITV series on Sunday.

Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley) and Samantha Bond (Lady Rosamund Painswick) will talk about their lives in TV, theatre and film at this special one-off event to raise funds for Nuffield's charitable activities. The evening will be hosted by BBC South Today presenter Sally Taylor MBE.

Laura Carmichael, who made her West End debut in 2012, is from Southampton and starred in Nuffield’s 2008 production of The President’s Holiday. Other theatre credits include Uncle Vanya (Vaudeville Theatre), Plenty (Sheffield Crucible), The Fitzrovia (The Swan at the Globe) and films; Madame Bovary (Left Field Ventures) and Tinker Tailor Solider Spy (Studio Canal/Working Title).

Samantha Bond originally found fame on Nuffield’s main stage in the world premiere of Daisy Pulls It Off before it transferred to the West End. She is particularly well known on the big screen as Miss Moneypenny in James Bond. Other theatre credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Savoy Theatre), Passion Play (Duke of Yorks Theatre); What the Butler Saw (Vaudeville) and King James Readings (National Theatre); alongside BBC TV’s Outnumbered.

Box office: 023 8067 1771 or visit nuffieldtheatre.co.uk