And we’re off! Downton Abbey’s final season premiered with gusto, featuring traces of tradition (a good old-fashioned fox hunt) and signs of encroaching modernity (cocktails before dinner!). The premiere introduced several plotlines that will likely dominate the rest of the season: a battle royale between the Dowager Countess and Isobel over the fate of the local hospital; Lady Mary’s ascendancy over the estate; and the potential downsizing of the staff.

Mrs. Hughes deputizes Mrs. Patmore to bring up the subject with Carson, which leads to a couple of incredibly awkward (but also funny and surprisingly touching) conversations between the butler and cook. After their first chat, we needed a shot of port just as much as Mrs. Patmore.

“I love her, Mrs. Patmore. I am happy and tickled and bursting with pride that she would agree to be my wife,” Carson says, as we wipe a tear from our eyes. He then offers to let Mrs. Hughes out of the engagement, but she’s happy he wants her, “warts and all.” They share a very sweet kiss. Awww!

Man, these two really just can’t seem to catch a break, ever. Finally, the whole Mr. Green nonsense is resolved — another woman comes forward to confess to pushing him into the street. Good riddance! The family and the servants all gather downstairs to toast the good news, but Anna still isn’t happy.

It’s 1925 in Downton Abbey as the sixth and final season begins on Sunday night, and the dead dog Isis is, reassuringly if somewhat eerily, still seen trotting toward the stately pile in the opening credits. The theme of the season, stated as loudly as one of the Dowager Countess’s window-rattling harrumphs, is that 20th-century modernity has finally, and now with even greater speed, penetrated the Downton families, both upstairs and downstairs.

In what will become a recurring subtext of the season, dialogue referencing the shifting culture inhabited by the Crawley family does double-duty as meta-commentary on the conclusion of the series: “I’ve begun to question how long we can go on with it all,” said Lord Grantham, who adds a bit later, “These are days of uncertainty.” That last line must have resonated with the executives of PBS, trembling with fearful sorrow over the prospect of ending what is likely the biggest prime-time cash-cow the network has ever seen. 

High theatre ticket prices in the West End are “creating a divide in the audience between the rich and the poor”, a top director has claimed.

Jamie Lloyd, who launched Doctor Faustus at the Duke of York’s Theatre starring Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harington last week, called the industry “corrupt” over decisions to charge more than £100 for some tickets.

In an interview with theatre magazine The Stage, he said despite people being willing to pay such high prices, it did not mean charging them was right.

Jamie, who has won an Olivier award and an Evening Standard award for past productions, also directed The Maids with Zawe Ashton and Downton Abbey’s Laura Carmichael, and Macbeth, which featured James McAvoy.

His production group, The Jamie Lloyd Company, runs a £15 Mondays scheme which makes every seat in the auditorium accessible at the reduced rate.

He described charging more than £100 for tickets as “outrageous” and said: “Like our Government, we are creating a divide in the audience between the rich and the poor. People will pay for them, but that does not mean it is right.”

Alison King has said farewell to Coronation Street by filming her last scenes for the long-running ITV soap.

The actress, who has played Carla Connor since 2006, said that while the show’s producers have made it possible for her to return, she is calling it quits.

On social media, Corrie colleagues have been posting their best wishes to the 43-year-old star.

Ryan Thomas, who is also soon to depart after 15 years playing builder Jason Grimshaw, shared a photo on Instagram. The message was captioned: “So my bestie Ali King leaves today, a new start a new beginning wishing all the luck in the world and 3 weeks time I’ll be joining her.”

Alison has said she only ever planned to be in the Weatherfield soap for four years initially.

A key member of the Corrie cast, her character has been through the mill since she arrived on Coronation Street with husband Paul Connor (played by Sean Gallagher) and brother-in-law Liam Connor, who was played by Rob James-Collier before the actor left for Downton Abbey.

Carla’s numerous trials and tribulations have included the breakdown of her first marriage to Paul, her second to Tony Gordon (Gray O’Brien) and her third to Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne).

Carla was a victim of rape, she was held hostage and battled alcoholism, and she later attempted suicide.