After all this time, I didn’t expect Julian Fellowes to mess with his formula and start having radical plot twists and unexpected tragedies and mayhem. It is a comfortable family viewing franchise. If anything, except for the same-sex relationship element, it is less adventurous than it used to be. But that is all fine with me. It is like the new All Creatures Great and Small series: I know what to expect, but with an ensemble characters I know and like I don’t care.

There were a few incidents that weren’t quite believable, such as a novice writer suddenly becoming a successful playwright, but it suited the plot and helped fill out the feel-good developments for nearly all the characters.

There were no thrills chills or spills, but enough gentle humor and plot development to keep me engaged and watching with interest to the end.