4 Mar 2013

Kiri Te Kanawa to join Downton Abbey cast

11:25 am on 4 March 2013

Dame Kiri te Kanawa is to join the cast of Downton Abbey for a special performance in the fourth series of the award winning British television show.

It is understood the New Zealand soprano will play a guest at the home of the Crawley family as it struggles to recover from the death of Lady Mary's husband Matthew.

Actress Shirley MacLaine is due to return as Martha Levinson, Lord Robert Crawley's American mother-in-law.

Dame Kiri told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme a script would arrive in the news few days and she will receive acting coaching.