IT’S as inevitable as turkey with all the trimmings and the Queen’s Speech.

It wouldn’t be Christmas Day without Downton Abbey’s Christmas special, which is a chance to ‘transport yourself back to a simpler time’ as the advert for the show’s festive soundtrack tells us.

And unlike a contemporary Christmas, there will be snow and there will be a tree the size of which a 2014 large screen TV can barely do justice to.

Once again, the tale of the Crawley family and their servants comes to us courtesy of the pen of Dorset resident Julian Fellowes.

Lord Fellowes of West Stafford, creator of Downton Abbey and its writer, brings us this Christmas special on the back of Downton’s fifth series.

The episode rejoins the family in the early autumn of 1924.

The two-hour special will see the Crawley family take a trip to Northumberland for a hunting trip with the Sinderbys during the grouse season, while the servants hold the fort back at Downton.

There will be a sixth series of the show next year and Lord Fellowes plans to keep on writing Downton until it reaches its natural end.

He said: “The most important thing is to make sure Downton is well-formed, comes to an end at the right time, and is not lured into the usual thing of trying to keep something going past its time.”

In previous years Downton has been full of shocks at Christmas time, with the untimely death of Matthew Crawley in 2012 having us all choking on our turkey sandwiches.

This year Alun Armstrong joins the cast as Stowell, the Sinderbys’ butler.

Also joining is BAFTA Award nominee, Jane Lapotaire, who will play the much talked about Princess Irina, wife of Prince Kuragin (Rade Sherbedgia).

While good sport is enjoyed, Stowell (Armstrong) has an axe to grind and a scandalous secret threatens to undermine the holiday. Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, was used as the location for Brancaster Castle. The production team spent two weeks in Northumberland and filmed in the spectacular interior rooms as well as Hulne Abbey and shooting around the estate.

Surprises are in store as the families become better acquainted with each other and some new faces arrive on the scene.

Back at Downton, Anna faces an uncertain future behind bars and Bates takes drastic measures in a bid to clear her name.

Baxter and Molesley are busy on a joint plan and Carson and Mrs Hughes consider a business venture.

Sue Johnston, of the Royle Family fame, joined the cast in the last series as Gladys Denker, lady’s maid to Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

She said the plot details of this year’s Christmas special have been kept secret so viewers are left surprised.

However, what she can reveal is that the episode involves more oddly gripping domestic drama in the shape of Mrs Patmore’s reluctance to embrace an electric mixer.

Sue said: “Denker is determined to prove that she can make a chicken broth.

“She ends up going head to head with Spratt the butler.

“It’s great fun being part of the Christmas special and being part of the cast.

“I think it’s a good thing that a lot of detail is kept secret. It’s annoying when you read in the paper about the end of a cliff hanger, particularly in a soap, and it’s been given away.”

  • Downton Abbey is on ITV on Christmas Day at 9pm.