IT’S definitely the news Downton Abbey fans didn’t want to hear but perhaps ending the famous saga after the next series is the only logical step.

For the past five years, millions of TV viewers have been entranced by the daily doings of the Crawley family upstairs and the servants downstairs.

Now, its makers NBC Universal have announced that the forthcoming sixth series will be its last as the programme is “approaching its natural conclusion.”

Sadly, that’s probably right. When it began in the post-Edwardian era its main charm was bringing alive the quaintness of toffs and servants as historic milestones like the First World War and the Spanish Flu outbreak were ticked off.

Lives and social habits changed accordingly, and it’s apt that such a well-researched and generally reliable series like this should also move on.

We’ll miss our weekly dose of Downton, but we have the box sets and probably a film coming. And, of course, writer Julian Fellows is probably already working on the next riveting project.