From deadly flu viruses to a car crash, some of the lead characters of the popular series Downton Abbey have met grisly ends.
So the cast must have been relieved to learn they will all survive the fifth series.
After viewers complained about the ITV drama’s high body count, scriptwriter Julian Fellowes decided not to kill off any major characters in the series which begins this autumn.
Actress Lesley Nicol, 61, who stars as Mrs Patmore the cook, said there had been a particularly ‘big fuss’ about the death in a car crash of Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, in the 2012 Christmas special.
In 2012, some viewers complained Downton had ruined their Christmas after Mr Crawley, played by Dan Stevens – was killed in a shock car crash.
In the next series heiress Lady Sybil - played by Jessica Brown-Findlay – passed away in a fit of convulsions during childbirth as her family wept by her bedside.
Previous episodes have seen young fiancée Lavinia Swire succumb to a deadly flu virus, footman William Mason die in the Battle of the Somme, valet Mr Green die in mysterious circumstances on a London street and Turkish diplomat Kemal Pamuk suffer a fatal heart attack.
Another shocking plotline, showing the rape of ladies maid Anna Bates last year, prompted more than 400 complaints and was criticised by rape campaigners.
But Miss Nicol has reassured fans that even its oldest character, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by 79-year-old Maggie Smith, will survive the fifth series.
Filming on the next series is expected to finish in August before it screens in the autumn.
However, Miss Nicol warned the series will not continue forever.3
She said: ‘I don’t know how long it will last. I know it won’t go on years and years. Julian wants to do other things and he will also want to go out on a high, as we all do.’
Series producer Liz Trubridge has said she is ‘very conscious’ of the effect the slew of deaths has had on viewers but insisted Mr Crawley’s untimely end was unavoidable as Mr Stevens wanted to leave the show.