text: TV insiders say Lily James (pictured), who stars in the new Disney cinema hit Cinderella, would be ideal as Mary in the new TV adaptation . They were left broken-hearted when writer Julian Fellowes announced that the next series of Downton Abbey would be the last. But at least the hit show's millions of fans can now look forward to more fun from the Oscar winner. He plans another heady TV mix of romance, class struggle and social snobbery, this time based on the work of Anthony Trollope, one of Britain's greatest novelists. Lord Fellowes, 65, has revealed he is to turn Trollope's 1858 novel Doctor Thorne into a new three-part historical drama for ITV. He said: 'Doctor Thorne is one of my favourite novels. It is romantic and funny and I am absolutely delighted to be doing it. I said yes to it straight away.' He added: 'It is rooted in darkness and starts with a murder, which spreads its shadow over many of the principal characters.' The novel tells the story of Doctor Thomas Thorne, who lives in the village of Greshamsbury in Barsetshire with his beautiful niece, Mary, a girl blessed with every gift except money. Mary has grown up alongside the Gresham sisters – Augusta, Beatrice and Alexandrina – and their handsome brother Frank, whose home is the great house and estate at Greshamsbury Park. When the terrifying Lady Arabella Gresham discovers that her son Frank has fallen in love with Doctor Thorne's penniless niece, she is horrified. And the situation is made all the more fraught because Doctor Thorne is harbouring a secret about Mary's parentage which threatens to bring everyone's world crashing down. Trollope's tale is considered one of his best works and Fellowes's track record in both television and film is likely to attract an A-list cast. TV insiders say Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham in Downton, and Lily James, who plays Lady Rose in the show and who stars in the new Disney cinema hit Cinderella, would be ideal as Thomas Thorne and Mary. But one source last night said that ITV would be keen to ensure that the cast of the new drama was not filled with faces from Downton. TV critics want Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham in Downton, to appear in the new television show . The tale is considered one of Trollope's best works . Several actresses, including Anna Chancellor, who made a guest appearance in the last series of Downton Abbey, Juliet Stevenson and Janet McTeer could all be likely contenders for the role of the snobbish Lady Arabella. The project is the realisation of a life- long ambition for Fellowes, a huge admirer of Trollope's work. He revealed plans for the new drama at a dinner held at The Athenaeum Club in London on Friday night to celebrate the bicentenary of Trollope's birth. Fellowes was a speaker at the event. He told The Mail on Sunday that there was a snobbishness towards Trollope in certain quarters and he hoped the adaptation would lead to a flood of other series. 'I think television has just woken up to the fact that there are all these wonderful stories by Trollope which have never been done. How much more interesting than the 88th version of Pride And Prejudice.' Fellowes revealed that many of the characters in Downton Abbey and his Oscar-winning 2001 film Gosford Park had been inspired by Trollope. He said Gosford Park's Lady Trentham and Downton's Dowager Countess of Grantham – both played by Maggie Smith – were very similar to Doctor Thorne's Lady Arabella, and that Gosford's imperious Lady Sylvia, played by Kristin Scott Thomas, was a 'classic' from a Trollope novel. Also at the Athenaeum Club was fellow Trollope fan Sir John Major. He discovered Trollope when he was 13 and likened the author to a 'friend for 60 years'. In an article in The Mail on Sunday's Event magazine he wrote: 'I invite others to make his acquaintance. Few, if any, will be disappointed. And most – like the young boy who once rummaged through the library shelves in Brixton – will find a love for life.'
target: Lord Fellowes, 65, has revealed he is to turn Trollope's 1858 novel Doctor Thorne into a new three-part historical drama for ITV .
  Tale considered one of his best works and is likely to attract an A-list cast .
  TV insiders say Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham in Downton and Lily James would be ideal as Thomas Thorne and Mary .