BBC and ITV face battle to halt Christmas ratings slump

The madcap comedy has topped the overall Christmas Day TV ratings for the last two years, pulling in 9.7 million viewers in 2014.

Downton Abbey’s final ever episode scored a total of 6.9 million, the most watched show of the evening.

Downton Abbey – The Finale will be shown on ITV on Christmas Day from 8.45pm to 10.45pm.

One person was even reduced tears on seeing her in her wedding dress: “I’ll admit I cried tears of joy when Lady Edith came down those stairs #DowntonFinale #DowntonAbbey”.

Last year’s special in which Tom Branson (Allen Leech) departed for a new life in America was seen by an average overnight audience of 5.8 million viewers, including those watching on ITV +1.

When it became clear that Edith was finally getting her happy ending, not everyone was pleased for her.

BBC1 will be hoping to build on its performance a year ago when it enjoyed a clean sweep of the five most-watched programmes.

She said: “Downton Abbey ended at season six because the producers and writer wanted to close the show on a high and that has been clearly demonstrated with the Downton Abbey finale on ITV being the most-watched show on television across all broadcasters on Christmas night”.

Following the final episode on Friday, a special video from the cast and crew shows them filming the final moments on set, as they reflect on their time in the world of Downton.

Lord Grantham, played by Hugh Bonneville, declared his enduring love for his wife Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), when he accepted her working at a hospital.

The BBC and ITV will be anxious to see better results this year.

It also grew into a pop-culture favourite with spoofs and parodies from Sesame Street and The Simpsons, to name a few, lighting up social media.