Rebecca Ferguson has never watched Downton Abbey

Singer Rebecca Ferguson has confessed she has yet to watch an episode of hit period drama Downton Abbey, despite recording a new tune for the third season of the show.

The former X Factor runner-up debuted her song I'll Count the Days on the show on Sunday night - but Ferguson admits she has been too busy in the studio and on the road this summer to sit down and watch the series, which she hopes will launch her in America when the drama eventually airs over there.

She tells the Liverpool Echo, "I am really into period dramas and I've got the box sets for series one and two, but I just haven't got round to watching them yet."

Ferguson insists she didn't need to watch the show to come up with the haunting tune she co-wrote with composer Don Black: "They told me the story of the characters involved and how it would fit in. I just thought it was really cute and I'm so happy to have been asked to do it."