Considering it’s the third movie spin-off of a cosy Sunday night ITV drama, I didn’t exactly go into Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale with the loftiest of expectations.

Billed as the big send-off to a franchise fans have now been saying goodbye to for the better part of a decade, you don’t have to be the biggest cynic going to wonder if the project is a bit of a cash-grab.

And yet, it only took until the Crawley family’s residence came into view for the first time, just a few minutes into the film, accompanied by an orchestral version of that iconic theme music, for me to be completely sold.

That, folks, is the power of Downton.

Let’s face it, since it first opened its doors in 2010, Downton Abbey has never exactly been known for its action-packed plots (in fact, its slow pace and low

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