Hugh Bonneville made his professional debut at the Open Air Theatre, Regent s Park, in 1986, bashing a cymbal in "A Midsummer Night s Dream" and understudying Ralph Fiennes as Lysander. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1991 and is now a familiar face to television audiences as well, having played leading roles in a number of shows. He appeared in the Emmy Award winning "The Gathering Storm", "Twenty Twelve", "Downton Abbey", "Doctor Who", and numerous others. "Twenty Twelve" won a British Comedy Award in 2011 and a BAFTA in 2013, Hugh being nominated two years running as Best Comedy Actor. In 2014, Hugh s character, Ian Fletcher, appeared in "W1A", a follow-up series about life at the BBC.

Julian Fellowes is the Emmy Award-winning writer and creator of "Downton Abbey "and the winner of the 2001 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Gosford Park. "He also wrote the screenplays for "Vanity Fair "and "The Young Victoria. "He is the bestselling author of "Snobs "and "Past Imperfect. "His other works include "The Curious Adventure of the Abandoned Toys "and the book for the Disney stage musical of "Mary Poppins. "

As an actor, his roles include Lord Kilwillie in the BBC Television series "Monarch of Glen" and the 2nd Duke of Richmond in "Aristocrats, " as well as appearances in the films "Shadowlands, " "Damage, " and "Tomorrow Never Dies."

He lives in London and Dorset, England.

Maggie Smith has illustrated many picture books, some of which she also wrote. My Blue Bunny, Bubbitis the first book she written as well as illustrated for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.An accomplished sewist and owner ofthe Etsy shop Maggierama, she lives in Seattle, Washington. Please visit her atwww.maggiebooks.com.