The final episode of Downton Abbey will feature “all the love and loss, happiness and heartbreak” fans of the show have come to expect, ITV and Carnival Films have promised.

The final series came to an end last weekend, as viewers watched Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) wed racing driver Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode), however the show will return for a final hurrah on Christmas Day.

The special episode will follow the Crawley family and their servants as they prepare to celebrate New Year’s Eve together and welcome in 1926.

Lady Mary’s new husband is struggling to find his place at Downton, while his wife attempts to build bridges with her sister Edith (Laura Carmichael) following the outburst that revealed Edith’s secret to her beau Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton).

Miranda star Patricia Hodge will make a guest appearance as Pelham’s mother, while Lily James and Matt Barber will return as Lady Rose and Atticus Aldridge alongide Peter Egan who plays Rose’s father Shrimpie.

The Christmas episode will feature Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, which doubles as Brancaster, the home of Bertie Pelham, the new Marquess of Hexham.

While the producers have given little away about the plot, they have promised that the inhabitants of Downton will have an “unforgettable” New Year’s Eve at the great house.

The Christmas special marks the end of Britain’s highest rated drama of the last decade, which has been watched by an average audience of 11 million. Downton Abbey, created by Julian Fellowes, has won 12 Emmy awards since it debuted in 2010, and has been sold to more than 250 territories worldwide.

Picture credit: ITV/Carnival Films