Jim Carter anticipates there won't be a dry eye in the house when the final series of the Downton Abbey draws to a close - and has hinted there are multiple weddings to look forward to!
Chatting to What’s on TV at the launch for the final series Jim, who plays Downton Abbey's staunch and straight-laced butler Carson, revealed the cast and crew 'were all a soggy mess' when they filmed Downton Abbey's last ever scenes.
"We filmed the last ever scene in the servants hall the other day," Jim told whatsontv.co.uk. "All the servants were there, it was a candlelit, quiet little scene and I wouldn't have thought it would have been emotional – the life of an actor is to move on – [but] we all got caught up in it and choked up… we were all a soggy mess. Including some very butch crew members, great big blokes, who were bawling like babies!"
Fans of butler Carson and housekeeper Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) are anxious to see the reticent romantics tie the knot, but Jim reminds us, this slow-burning couple may take their time getting to the altar!
He joked: "This has got to be the slowest burning romance - tortoises mate faster that these two! It's been going on for years with the nation willing them to get together."
He added: “It looks, as we start series six, that they’re about to get together, but under what terms… Twin beds? Double beds? There are lots of negotiations to go on before we hear wedding bells."
The Singing Detective and Cranford star also hinted at multiple weddings during the final series: "There are quite a lot of wedding bells in this - but I can't tell you who between!"
Speaking about sort of husband he thought Carson would make, Jim laughed: "Hopeless! The man's been a bachelor for so long, is stuck in his ways and such a creature of routine. But he's got the right woman. Mrs Hughes above anybody knows how to deal with Mr Carson. She'll warm him up and bring out the best side in him. I think it's an equal match."
Jim revealed viewers can expect a big emotional ending from the final ever episode of Downton Abbey, which airs on Christmas Day later this year.
"At the end of series six there's a feeling of things drawing to a close. The world is changing and life at Downton is changing. I sat down and read the Christmas Special, and it was a real page turner. Julian Fellowes has managed the ending of this really well, without gas explosions, train crashes or anything like that.
"We say goodbye to the characters in a really heartfelt way. I think people will really enjoy that, if they have a handkerchief close by."
For the full interview, please watch the video above...
Downton Abbey continues Sundays at 9pm on ITV.
