DOWNTON fever filled an Oxfordshire village as the cast and crew of the hit television show set up shop in Bampton.

Villagers helped swell the ranks of the cast of Downton Abbey, which stars Dame Maggie Smith and Hugh Bonneville, taking up posts as extras to help film what looked to be pivotal scenes in the third series of the ITV1 drama – a wedding between the two main characters, Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley.

Security in the village was tight during filming, which wrapped up yesterday, with villagers hoping for a glimpse of the wedding dress or the main stars mostly left disappointed.

But the feeling in Bampton was all welcome towards the star-studded and camera laden visitors.

Yasar Isetmis, who runs the Bampton Coffee House in the Market Square, said members of the cast had been spotted coming in for refreshments.

He said: “As a small business owner I am very happy about it because they bring business to the village and it does make a difference when they are here.”

He understood the crew was set to film in the village a further seven times this year, and said his wife had gone down to watch the action.

Mike Drysdale, landlord at the Romany Inn, said members of the support crew had stayed at the hotel.

He said: “We do get tourists as a result of Downton.

“Most of it is whistle-stop coach tours because Downton filming is done over such a wide area, but we do get some trade from people who do the tour on their own or just come down because they’re interested.”

Don Rouse, who runs one of Bampton’s most iconic events, the Great Shirt Race, said he believed Downton’s presence was “brilliant” for the village.

He said: “Very often I go to drive round by the church where it is filmed and you get these enormous tourist buses jammed across the road.

“It has been a terrific boost for Bampton.”

During filming, signs were replaced with old-fashioned notices and bunting was up all around the village.

Jack FM presenter Sue Carter went celebrity-watching in Bampton at the weekend, and said Dan Stevens, the actor who plays Matthew Crawley, had been spotted.

She said: “Everything was just a buzz of activity.”