George Clooney to appear in ‘Downton Abbey’ sketch

Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney will be gracing the halls of Downton Abbey on television later this year.

But before you get too excited about what this news could mean -- will Clooney don his tux and roll around in a pigsty with Lady Mary? Or swindle Lord Grantham out of his fortune over a seemingly gentlemanly game of cards? Or meet Lady Edith at a suffragist rally? -- be warned: Clooney will not actually be appearing in the hit period piece.

Instead the Oscar-winning actor-director-activist will star in a sketch filmed at Highclere Castle -- a.k.a. the real Downton Abbey -- as part of a charity television special, “Text Santa,” airing over the holidays on the British ITV Network.

ITV has confirmed Clooney’s involvement, but has declined to share further details about the sketch, including whether any of the show’s cast members might also be involved. Six different charities will be beneficiaries of the telethon (and don’t worry, Lord Grantham, none of them advocate for the abolition of the aristocracy).

Clooney and fiancee Amal Alamuddin were reportedly spotted at Highclere Castle in May, prompting speculation from the always reliable Daily Mail that the couple was eying the massive estate for their upcoming wedding. After all, before it became the fictional home of the Crawley family, Highclere was a popular, over-the-top wedding destination for celebrities such as British tabloid curiosity Katie Price. Then again, when you’ve got your own Italian villa, who wants to contend with a flock of tourists -- not to mention the ghost of Cousin Matthew?

British viewers can contemplate what might have been when Season 5 of “Downton Abbey” premieres on ITV later this month. American audiences will have to wait until it lands on PBS on Jan. 4.

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