Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale star Harry Hadden-Paton was joined by real-life family members on the set of the highly-anticipated third and final film.
Countless fans of the smash-hit period drama are eagerly awaiting the film’s release in cinemas this month, which will cap off the historical series 15 years after its premiere on ITV.
Much of the beloved cast will return for one last outing, which will see the Crawley family enter the 1930s while facing a divorce scandal and the threat of financial ruin.
Fan-favourite star Harry Hadden-Paton will be back as Herbert “Bertie” Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham, who revealed he and his on-screen wife Lady Edith (played by Laura Carmichael) aren’t struggling quite as much as the rest of the family.
Speaking to the Radio Times about their roles in the third film, Hadden-Paton admitted the Pelhams won’t be experiencing “trials and tribulations”.
He says the pair will be in a “place of happiness”, while Carmichael adds Edith is “feeling her power” and “comfortable” in her position as a magazine editor.
During a visit to the film’s set, RT also couldn’t help noticing Hadden-Paton’s sisters in the background of a key scene.
He revealed Downton’s producers can be “very allowing” about having the stars’ friends and family playing extras and minor roles.
The star even had his real best man take on the same role when Bertie married Lady Edith.
“Then, in series six, we had a big get-back-together scene at the Ritz, which we filmed in the middle of the night, and the entire Ritz dining room was comprised of crew in full make-up and costume pretending to be other diners,” he recalled.
“The producer was the maître d’! So the lines have sometimes been a bit blurred between real and fictional with these surreal celebrations.”
On this occasion, the cast were in the tenth week of filming with one last set piece left to shoot.
As the sequence called for a large crowd of extras, Hadden-Paton was allowed to “sneak in” members of his own family to join the celebration.
While fans will be saddened to say goodbye to Downton Abbey, writer Julian Fellowes has admitted he can’t fully rule out a return to the franchise.
“Every time I say ‘never’ in this business, I find six months later, I’m doing exactly what I said I’d never do,” he teased.
However, the stars behind Edith and Bertie are convinced their story is over, claiming it would be “too hard” to pick specific characters to follow in a spin-off.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in UK cinemas from Friday, 12th September.