Downton Abbey producers deny show ended because Dame Maggie Smith quit

Not that “Downton Abbey” has not yet made its fans shed buckets of tears in the last six seasons, but according to Jim Carter, who played the trustee butler Mr. Carson of the beloved family, the last one will definitely make people bawl their eyes out.

She admitted: “One of my favourite purchases is a fur-trimmed high-collared orange and green coat that Lady Edith [Laura Carmichael] wears when she first kisses Bertie Pelham [Harry Hadden-Patton] when she’s staying in Gregson’s apartment”.

British period drama television series Downton Abbey’s swansong is a satisfying ending for the show’s dedicated fans.

It feels extraordinary, we remember the first day we were here and now here we are and it feels very, very odd not to be coming back here.

This might not be the end for Downton Abbey. Nobody regrets ending when we did.

We easily could have gone for a seventh season, but if I’d have said “We haven’t got Maggie” it would have been a shadow of itself.

The actor, 52 – who plays benevolent Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the hugely popular ITV series – told The Sun that the stars were frisked by production staff on the final day of filming…

We don’t want to spoil it for you, so if you haven’t seen it why not head over to the STV Player to catch up?

The BBC claimed eight of the 10 most watched Christmas shows, with Mrs Brown’s Boys and Stick Man drawing in an average of 6.4 million, and Doctor Who and Call the Midwife pulling in an audience of 5.8 million each.

There’s so much we need to know. Not a single show broke the 7 million viewer mark this year, down from the most recent peak in 2010 when three shows – all on the BBC – each attracted more than 10 million.

More people are expected to turn to catch-up and recording services to watch Christmas Day broadcasts.