‘Downton Abbey’ season 3: Notes on Elizbeth McGovern, latest ratings

Fresh off of the “Downton Abbey” episode that aired on ITV Sunday night, we have a pair of additional stories worth sharing pertaining both to one of the show’s biggest stars, as well as the ratings that continue to be strong for the show.

This time around, 9.5 million viewers in Britain caught what was the second-to-last episode of season 3 (excluding the Christmas special) on Sunday night, and this included a peak audience of just over 10 million. While the show has been down at times versus last year, The Hollywood Reporter is careful to note that the show’s ratings overall (once you include numbers from recordings) are actually stronger than with season 2. It’s certainly not bad for a show that already has such a massive foothold on the British television market. (In other ratings news, “Strictly Come Dancing” beat “The X Factor” for the first time Sunday when it came to average viewership.)

Now, we turn to a rather charming story from Elizabeth McGovern that just proves even more how invested some people already are with this series. Speaking as a part of a new interview with Cover Media, the actress stated that her own husband in Simon Curtis was completely devastated earlier this season by one of the most heart-wrenching moments we have seen on TV in some time in the tragic death of Sybil:

“My very sophisticated husband, who’s been in the business for a long time, was so distraught watching it that I had to lean over and say, ‘It’s not real, it’s not real’.”

For those American viewers who are able to remain unspoiled until the show airs on PBS next year, we have a feeling the devastation will be equally present.