As Christmas specials go, the festive treat for Downton Abbey will be an unusual one… because it’s set in September. Rather than skipping to the yuletide period, Julian Fellowes and his team decided that they would set the two hour special in the autumn, as the Crawley family visit the Scottish Highlands for a break away, where they are welcomed at Duneagle Castle by Shrimpie Flintshire (no, we didn’t just make that up) and his wife Susan.

There are tensions amidst the Flintshire family though and their rebellious young daughter Rose is causing a stir again, as she did back in season three, by having an affair with Terence Margadale. Back at Downton Abbey, the staff are hard at work and there’s romance on the cards for Mrs Patmore. There’s even a new servant on the scene, in the shape of Edna Braithwaite (played by MyAnna Buring).

The Downton Abbey Christmas special, aired on ITV at 20:45pm is sure to be a favourite amongst an audience of lethargic British TV viewers, stuffed to the hilt from their Christmas dinners. It will go head to head with another popular festive favourite though: the Eastenders Christmas special. Both shows will be aired at the same time and will also clash with Channel 4’s showing of The Lord of The Rings and BBC 2’s look at a year in the life of the Military Wives’ Choir.