Downton Abbey series finale: Cast teases what to expect in Masterpiece Studio podcast preview

If you would have a hard time choosing between Downton Abbey and the Oscars, you’re in luck — there won’t be a new episode of the British period drama airing Sunday night.

But without new upstairs-downstairs drama to digest this week, that leaves one thing for fans to ponder: What will happen in next week’s series finale?

The latest edition of the Masterpiece Studio podcast has you covered. In an exclusive excerpt you can hear above, members of the cast — Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore), Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes), Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates), and Jim Carter (Mr. Carson) — each preview what viewers can expect when that last episode airs.

Dockery says it will be “a real number,” while Nichol promises that “lots of very touching things will be happening.” Carter, meanwhile — perhaps in the spirit of the Crawley family’s no-nonsense butler — doesn’t want to give away anything at all.

“The way television works, people watch and they get excited about the story. But if some idiot from Yorkshire’s told them the story beforehand, it ruins that pleasure. And then they come looking for that idiot and persecute him,” he jokes in the clip. “So I don’t want to be in that position.”

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Listen to what the other cast members have to say about the finale above. This week’s full Masterpiece Studio podcast, also featuring an interview with Downton creator/writer/executive producer Julian Fellowes, will be available Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on iTunes, Stitcher, and the Masterpiece website.

The final episode of Downton Abbey will air next Sunday, March 6, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.