Downton Abbey boss reveals the show ended because Dame Maggie Smith quit

Will you be sad when Downton Abbey comes to an end?

As happy as they are that the last season was a success, they are still sad that the show had to end.

Since it was announced earlier this year that Downton Abbey would bow out on Christmas Day, the question on all our lips was how the Crawleys would bid us a final farewell.

The final episode started at 8:45 p.m. and ran for two hours.

This year Downton Abbey’s final episode will face stiff competition from EastEnders as it battles to go out on top in the ratings.

Michelle Dockery also spoke of the difficulty of saying goodbye to her character during an interview with Standard UK.

Patricia Hodge, best known in recent years for her role in BBC One comedy Miranda, will play the mother of Bertie Pelham.

“It was so lovely to show a character coming out of her shell and showcase an original piece while doing so!”

“But I do know how grateful we are to have been allowed this unique experience”.

Butler Carson (Jim Carter) is philosophical about the new developments at Downton.

We’ve been on lots of red carpets together and to the Met Ball a few times, which was awesome and surreal because all these really famous people, like Mick Jagger, Bruno Mars, Marc Jacobs and P Diddy, were coming up and talking to us.

The programme averaged a massive 6.9 million viewers, when it aired on ITV at 8.45pm.

Beamish also recently welcomed Downton Abbey actress Joanne Froggatt, who plays maid Anna Bates, for the filming of a new ITV drama, Dark Angel, about the North East 1800s serial killer Mary Ann Cotton. Fortunately, Thomas appears to be at one with himself, declaring in the teaser: “I arrived here as a boy, I leave here as a man”.

Over its six seasons, Downton Abbey has won a host of accolades, including numerous Emmy Awards.