Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale review

Can it be true? After six series and two films, it’s finally time to say goodbye to the Crawley family and their loveable staff.

Set a couple of years after the previous film, this last instalment opens in London, where the gentry are enjoying a season full of parties, theatre trips and outings to Ascot.

But scandal is afoot: Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) is now divorced, and the paparazzi are hounding her. With divorced women being isolated by society in 1930, the family must do their best to retain their standing – and also clear up a financial mess involving Cora’s reckless brother, Harry (Paul Giamatti, reprising his role from the TV series).

Meanwhile, back at Downton Abbey, there’s a storm in a teacup about the county fair.

While not as dramatic as the previous two films, there’s plenty for fans to enjoy here, as beloved characters face new challenges. Hugh Bonneville is as enjoyable as ever as the cheerfully irritable Robert Crawley, now huffing and puffing about the prospect of having to have a flat, rather than a house, in London.

There are delightful scenes between Mary and Edith (Laura Carmichael), and lovely moments between Daisy (Sophie McShera) and Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol). 

Downton will never be the same without the late Dame Maggie Smith delivering withering one-liners as the inimitable Dowager Violet, but this pays tribute to her in an emotional ending.

Otherwise, the tone is breezy and cheery, especially when Dominic West reappears as actor Guy Dexter, with Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) now his ‘dresser’. And prepare yourself for a real historical figure: Arty Froushan appears as none other than playwright Noël Coward.

Coward famously said, “I will accept anything in the theatre… provided it amuses or moves me”.

For its devotees, Downton Abbey’s finale should do both.