Film crews will be descending on Bampton early next year after a fourth series of Downton Abbey was confirmed.

Eight new ITV episodes, plus a Christmas special, will be filmed, starting in February.

The show, which chronicles the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family, has been a ratings hit, attracting more than nine million viewers.

Many of the exterior shots in the series are filmed in Bampton.

The new episodes will be broadcast next autumn.