Downton Abbey icon Hugh Bonneville left an ITV reporter speechless after calling the situation in Gaza ‘indefensible’ on live TV.
The red carpet for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – the last movie in the period trilogy – took place in London’s Leicester Square last night, with the main stars celebrating the poignant end of the long-running franchise.
Hugh, 61, has played Lord Grantham, the patriarch of the aristocratic family, since the first season of the Julian Fellowes-created drama came out in 2010.
The popular series traces the highs and lows of the Crawley family and their serving staff from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 to the 1930s as they face their crumbling status in a changed post-war England.
At one point during the night’s festivities, the Paddington star took part in a live interview with ITV News.
As the chat started, he appeared to shock the reporter Helen Keenan by discussing the ongoing conflict in Gaza instead of talking about the movie.
‘Who better to speak to about [the final movie] than Hugh Bonneville, who has been there from the very start?’ Helen told the camera as she turned to the screenstar.
The actor then leaned down into the mic, hurriedly saying: ‘Hello, good evening, before I talk about the fluff and loveliness of our wonderful film, what’s about to happen in Gaza City is indefensible, the international community must do more to bring it to an end.’
As he spoke, the ITV reporter’s face grew visibly shocked, with her mouth widening in surprise at his words.
Not pausing for a moment, however, Hugh immediately launched into his thoughts on the movie, hardly pausing in between.
He continued: ‘Downton Abbey is a lovely film and we’re going to celebrate 15 glorious years of it tonight. It’s the grand finale, and we had a great, great time making it, and it’s a great love letter to the fans.’
When the camera cut back to the studio, the presenter behind the desk stated: ‘Of course it’s not about the politics, it’s about the film.’
Earlier this week, the BBC reported that the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution stating that Israel’s conduct in Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide as laid out in the UN Convention.
Last month, a UN-backed group monitoring world hunger also officially declared a famine in Gaza.
Hugh’s fervent statement on live national TV has left many fans applauding his strategy and amused at Helen’s clear confusion at the sudden turn in the conversation.
‘Him barely taking a breath in between crossing points purely to ensure ITV can’t edit anything out is a genius way to ensure its awareness is kept in,’ X user TomMCJL wrote.
‘Rather than just promoting the latest Downton Abbey movie, this wonderful, wonderful man uses the camera opportunity to speak about Gaza,’ Humayun Hussain shared.
‘Hugh Bonneville – absolute legend,’ MrBoffly echoed.
Hugh is not the only one using his platform to raise awareness about Gaza – even in the past 24 hours.
At the Venice Film Festival yesterday, a ‘harrowing’ documentary about the killing of a five-year-old girl in Gaza received a 23-minute standing ovation as one of the stars of the film, Motaz Malhees, took a Palestinian flag and held it up in the cinema.
This means The Voice of Hind Rajab earned a record-breaking ovation at the festival.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale comes out in cinemas on September 12.
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