‘Downton Abbey’ series finale spoilers: Jim Carter teases ‘tear-jerking’ last episode

Christmas Day marks the end of an era, and sees the last ever episode of Downton Abbey air.

But the Queen’s speech, broadcast on BBC and ITV, was the most watched programme, with a combined audience of 7.2 million.

Downton went head-to-head with an hour-long special of EastEnders in the 8.45pm slot, but even a shock auto crash involving the Mitchell and Beale families only captured the attention of 5.7 million fans.

BBC sci-fi favorite Doctor Who, starring Peter Capaldi, in 2014 drew an overnight audience of 6.34 million on Christmas Day, beating out Downton Abbey.

The series will end with a Christmas special finale episode on 25 December at 8 pm.

However, with no one show breaking the seven million barrier, viewing figures as a whole are down on previous years.

“The world is a different place from the way it was, my lord, and Downton Abbey must change with it”, Carson replies.

One user wrote: “So glad Lady Edith got her happy ending… loved #DowntonAbbey a fantastic end to a great series”.

“We film six months of the year, every year, and we see each other a lot, so inevitably when you say goodbye to people after that length of time it’s going to be very, very sad”.

Storylines are, for the most part, carefully concluded and where they’re not neatly tied up we can at least imagine what future might lie ahead. The sentiment seems to be that many cast members are ready to move on, and doing something like this without a few of the iconic cast members would at this point be too depressing.

Downton Abbey debuted on ITV in 2010 and became a global phenomenon, collecting numerous awards along the way.