Downton Abbey finale: Laura Carmichael on the emotional final shoot

Downton Abbey‘s Lady Edith is no stranger to having her emotions put through the wringer, but Laura Carmichael, the actress who played the character across six seasons prior to last Sunday’s series finale, recalls the doleful sentiments she experienced during the PBS drama’s final shoot in a preview for a new episode of the Masterpiece Studio podcast.

“It was our last shot, the last moment that we ever shot on Downton, and we shot it at the Ritz in the middle of the night. I think we started at 1:00 a.m., and Michelle [Dockery] came in in the middle of the night to do the clapperboard. Julian [Fellowes] was there, so it was special. All of the crew were dressed up to be extras in the restaurant,” the actress says, recounting the final moments of shooting on set. “We just were trying so hard to get through it without blubbing, without crying. I love that scene for lots of reasons, and not just spying all of our crew in the background.”

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Dockery previously recalled another emotional final Downton moment in an earlier episode of the Masterpiece Studio podcast, speaking about their final day at Highclere Castle (which served as the Crawley family home on the series). “We sort of didn’t know what to do and I was like, ‘This is really weird. Isn’t it, Laura?’ And then she was like, ‘It’s really weird.’ And then all our eyes filled up. I was like, ‘Oh my God. We’re done. That’s it.’”

You can hear Carmichael’s full interview, including her reflections on Downton Abbey‘s final episode, when the latest edition of the Masterpiece Studio podcast, “Edith Gets the Last Word,” debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on iTunes, Stitcher, and the Masterpiece website.