Matthew Goode on his return to 'Downtown Abbey 3'

Matthew Goode recently revealed that he has said goodbye to the Downtown Abbey franchice.

In his latest chat with Radio Times Magazine, Matthew confirmed he will not be present in the third third installment of the historical drama. He played the character of Henry Talbot, Lady Mary's husband, in the original flick.

Matthew also explained his absence from the second Downton movie.

He began, "I was unavailable for the second because I was doing The Offer," as he referred to the biographical TV miniseries about the making of The Godfather.

"Then (for the third) I was shooting (Department Q, a Netflix series)," he added.

He also reasoned that he had also suffered a knee injury around that time which gave him more reason to turn down the opportunity.

"I also buggered my knee, and I had to have an operation. That takes weeks to get over, so I was never going to be able to do it," the 47-year-old star continued.

Before conclusion, he noted that his character Henry Talbot had become "a bit of a wet lettuce" by the time he appeared in the first film, following the TV series.

"And let's face it, he was edging towards becoming a bit of a wet lettuce," he joked. "So maybe it's a good thing."