Last Sunday’s dramatic episode of Downton Abbey had us all in floods.
The death of the popular Downton character Lady Sybil had viewers in shock. In something similar to the pre-Internet age, her death was kept a closely-guarded secret which made for unforgettable viewing.
However, despite viewers not having a clue as to what was to come, the show proved a ratings winner, with a total of 9.5 million people tuning in.
The period drama managed 100,000 more viewers than The X Factor results show, which screened just before on 1TV1.
The death of the loveable character made us think about the little need for television spoilers or previews.
Lady Sybil was seen dying of eclampsia soon after giving birth to a healthy baby girl, leaving her husband Tom Branson, family and everyone on the other side of the screen devastated.
Fans took to the micro-blogging site Twitter in their droves and #Downton trended as people shared their woes with one another online.
“Please wake up love… please wake up…”
Before Lady Sybil gave birth, the family were debating between the conflicting advice from the family physician Doctor Clarkson and a specialist Sir Philip Tapsell.
Dr Clarkson noticed worrying symptoms when she was in labour and urged the family to bring Sybil to hospital. Sir Philip disagreed. Meanwhile, we shouted our own maternity advice at the screen.
Sybil’s husband Tom’s decision for her to go to the hospital is too late and his wife gives birth to a baby girl at the house.
Sybil wakes up later hours after her labour experiencing the eclampsia fits predicted by Dr Clarkson and dies in front of her horrified family.
A fantastic night of television and some impressive viewing figures too… perhaps people will hold off on the spoilers from now on and allow us to experience the full potential of watching such a quality show. We just can’t wait for next week…
