Downton Abbey final series: Characters won't have 'completely happy endings' as cast mourn last days of filming

Lady Mary's love life will form the 'main part' of the closing episodes

Michelle Dockery plays Lady Mary in Downton Abbey (ITV)

It's not going to end well for every Downton Abbey character when the much-loved period drama comes to a end at Christmas.

The cast and crew have been filming their last ever scenes for the ITV series this week, and executive producer Gareth Neame has been dropping some hints on what fans can expect from the finale.

Before everyone gets their petticoats in a twist, there will be an "overwhelmingly positive" tone, with no natural disasters or anything wiping out the household. But it will be "the end of an era", sob.

"The series is focused on the dying of the light, the slight sense of finality," Neame told the Guardian. "It is not Downton pulling up the drawbridge, not a thunderbolt that destroys it. The camera will move away.

"We don't have completely happy endings but for the audience, it's is an overwhelmingly positive show, even when melancholic."

Of course what most avid viewers will want to know is whether Lady Mary love life is finally going to take a turn for the better. Good news, as Neame teased that her storyline will be the "main part" of the closing episodes.

Elsewhere, bookmakers are taking bets on likely happenings in the sixth series. William Hill reports that Gregson returning and marrying Lady Edith is on evens, while Lady Mary is at 3/1 to wed a character we have not met yet.

Downstairs, Jimmy Kent, Hughes and Carson are tipped to get the axe as the household makes cuts, while the house itself is at 5/1 to be sold.

Downton's return is yet to receive an air date but the Granthams are expected back in our living rooms on Sunday evenings next month.