THE Dorset man behind a global TV and film phenomenon will soon be saying goodbye to his creation.
Lord Julian Fellowes of West Stafford, will bring the world of the aristocratic Crawley family to the big screen for the last time in the third and final film in the Downton Abbey franchise, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
The final chapter filled with emotion, legacy, and goodbyes is due to be released in cinemas on Friday, September 12.
The original ITV series leading to three spin-off movies has been a global phenomenon, experiencing huge success in the United States.
Across six acclaimed seasons created and co-written by Lord Fellowes, the series explored love, loss, war, scandal and shifting class dynamics in early 20th-century Britain – before making the shift to the big screen.
Lord Fellowes will soon be hitting the promotional trail ahead of the Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale's worldwide release.
It promises to draw the curtain on the beloved saga, as Lady Mary, her family, and loyal staff face new beginnings and changing times.
Matthew Goode - who played Henry Talbot - will not be reprising his role and also missing will be Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away last year and whose character, Violet Crawley - the Dowager Countess of Grantham - died in the second Downton Abbey movie.
Lord Fellowes, writer and producer of the new film, said: “There is a clear sense in the film that the family continues to be, in a sense, dominated by Violet.
“The fact that she’s dead is a detail. It’s her beliefs, her demands, and her sense of how the Crawleys should behave, and what they’re there for, that live on.
Dame Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey
"We tried to find ways to make that as clear as we can. Of course, we do miss Maggie in the film, but we should miss Maggie in the film. That’s quite deliberate. We don’t want people not to miss her. We want them to miss her. I think she created a wonderful character that I will be grateful for to my dying day.”
He said of the emotional farewell: “It’s easy for a producer and writer to say it’s been a happy show, because that’s all you’ve ever known.
"Nevertheless, I think for most, at least, it has been a happy show. When we run into each other on chat shows and that kind of thing, it’s always a happy moment for me. I think of [the experience] as a wonderful magic carpet ride I was allowed to have in my second career. I feel very grateful for it.”
The cast of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is led by Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Laura Carmichael, reprising their iconic roles as Lady Mary, Lord Grantham, Lady Cora and Lady Edith respectively.
Meanwhile, they are joined by an ensemble of returning favourites and British talent, including Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Penelope Wilton and Dominic West in key supporting roles.
Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti – who last appeared in the 2013 Christmas special – will also reprise his role, while new additions include Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola and Simon Russell Beale.
The recently-released trailer shows that a lot of the drama will revolve around Lady Mary, with clips teasing that the 'future of Downton Abbey is in Mary's hands, showing an outcry in society upon people learning of Mary's divorce and also a potential new love interest for the eldest Crawley daughter.
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