Downton Abbey finale: a recap of what happened


November 9, 2015

After six series and more than 50 episodes, fans of Downton Abbey tuned in to watch the grand finale on Sunday night. The period drama, which has one last Christmas Special to serve up in December, naturally revolved around Lady Mary Crawley and her complicated love life.

At the start of the episode Lady Mary, played by Michelle Dockery, is adamant that she won't be won over by racing driver Henry Talbot.

"If you're trying to get rid of me, I'm going to make this as hard and as horrible as I can," Henry says, when he turns up uninvited on her doorstep.

© Photo: ITV

Henry Talbot and Lady Mary tie the knot in a surprise wedding

Even Lady Mary's mother Lady Cora admits: "The man's only crime is to love you."

After a lot of dithering the Downton heiress finally gives in to her real feelings and accepts Henry's proposal. The episode ends with her being whisked down the altar by her dreamboat fiancé, played by Mathew Goode.

All isn't well quite yet at Downton though as the feisty aristocrat has betrayed her sister Lady Edith, by revealing her secret past to her suitor Bertie Pelham. The result is that Edith's engagement is ruined because Bertie can't forgive her for hiding the truth about her illegitimate daughter Marigold.

© Photo: ITV

Lady Edith is left by her suitor Bertie

Fans of the show took to Twitter to vent their frustration on behalf of Lady Edith and hoping that her love life improves.

The episode, which was longer than the usual running time at 1 hour 35 minutes, was watched by an average of 8.4million viewers. The finale was the highest-viewed episode since November 2013.

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