A POPULAR North-East Museum appeared in the last-ever episode of Downton Abbey on Christmas Day.

The final instalment of the of the award-winning ITV drama, won the battle of the Christmas Day ratings as 6.6 million people tuned in.

With peak figures of 7.1 million, the two-hour long episode of Julian Fellowes' drama just pipped the Strictly Christmas special, won by Harry Judd, which was the BBC's most-watched show of the day with a peak of seven million viewers and an average of 6.5 million.

The street at Beamish Museum, near Stanley, County Durham, was covered in “snow” in July, when filming took place with Lady Mary Crawley (played by Michelle Dockery), Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode).

The museum was delighted to welcome over 100 cast, crew and supporting artists. Excited visitors looked on during the filming in Beamish’s 1900s Town.

Jacki Winstanley, Beamish’s Marketing Officer, said: “It was fantastic to have a scene from the very last episode of Downton Abbey filmed at Beamish.

“In the middle of July they transformed our town street into a snowy winter scene. Our staff and visitors were fascinated by the preparations and actual filming on the day.”

Beamish also recently welcomed Whitby-born Downton Abbey actress Joanne Froggatt, who plays maid Anna Bates, for the filming of a new ITV drama, Dark Angel, about the North-East 1800s serial killer Mary Ann Cotton.