Ever since the start of the current series, series 3, of Downton Abbey hit our screens last month, speculation has been ripe about the shows shelf life, with many rumours suggesting that it only has two more series left (one of which has been confirmed) as well as the possibility of a prequel being made.

Fans of the epic ITV1 period drama will know how in the last three series the fantastic drama has spanned from 1908 thought to the roaring 20′s, with many viewers worrying that it was travelling to quickly ahead to last much longer, with others joking it could last a decade.

However, it would seem that the fate of this new national treasure has already been decided, and according to Brendan Coyle, who plays currently incarcerated Bates in the drama, all the cast know when and how the show will come to its final end.

Speaking to the Radio Times, Coyle commented coyly: “I can pretty much say all of us know when Downton is going to end.

“This is a show with a finite life. If we bring this into the 50s, it’s Emmerdale.”

However, he refused to put any of us out of our misery to the fate of his character, who is currently serving life in prison for the murder of his former wife, which he insists he did not commit.

Hinting that there may be more to his story than we know, Coyle continued: “Bates was in the Boer War.

“He would have killed a lot of people. Does that mean he can kill his wife? What does it do to you?”

In Sundays episode we saw another favourite character depart as Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay) died of eclampsia following the birth of her first child, leaving her husband, Tom (Allen Leech) and her family devastated. And if these rumours are to be believed then it won’t be long before we are saying goodbye to all our favourite characters!

Downton Abbey can be seen on Sundays nights at 9pm on ITV1/ITV1 HD.