Actor and author Hugh Bonneville late addition to Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival

Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival has announced a very special late addition to its 2026 programme, as celebrated actor and author Hugh Bonneville (pictured above) brings spies, secret codes and some decidedly suspicious cups of tea to the festival next month.

Best known as the Earl of Grantham in “Downton Abbey” and Mr Brown in the “Paddington” films, Hugh will appear at The Hunter Arts Club to celebrate the publication of his second children’s novel, “Rory Sparkes and the Spy Who Loved Tea” (Bloomsbury).

The event follows the success of his 2025 debut, “Rory Sparkes and the Elephant in the Room”.

In Rory’s latest adventure, a trail of coded messages hidden inside a neighbour’s recipe book leads him to suspect that the mysterious La Brucette family are covert spies.

When his mum, his teachers and seemingly every adult around him become obsessed with a new, and frankly disgusting, brand of tea, things take an even stranger turn.

Illustrated by Loretta Schauer and bubbling with mystery, mischief and laugh-out-loud moments, the book is perfect for young fans of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Horrid Henry”.

Hugh will reveal how Rory’s brilliantly curious world was created, bring his latest adventure to life and answer questions from the audience in a lively event on Sunday, October 11, filled with storytelling, spies, secret codes and suspicious brews.