Downton Abbey is coming to an end, and I feel surprisingly OK with it. To say the franchise has got me through some hard times is an understatement. Just a few months before the first movie came out in 2019, I'd moved back in with my mum and step-dad after my seven-year relationship ended suddenly. As the break-up was happening, I lost my grandfather unexpectedly. I'll spare you the gory specifics but looking back, it's fair to say I was feeling pretty untethered during that period of my life.
At the time, I was a freelance writer, and in need of some serious retail therapy one Monday, I blew a raspberry at my desk and went to my local shopping mall with my family. Inside – I'll never forget it – was a huge billboard for the Downton Abbey film, complete with the tagline: "The cinematic event of the year."
