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“The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time, I do think, has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway,” Downton Abbey executive producer Gareth Neame recently told TVLine while promoting Peacock’s The Day of the Jackal. “The loss of the Dowager, it now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch. But I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful.”

Echoing the sentiment he initially shared shortly after Smith’s death, Neame calls her loss “the end of an era,” adding that “we will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again.” He believes that the entire Downton Abbey cast and crew’s “huge respect for her … will come across in in the next movie.”

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Can't wait to read! ❤️❤️

A bit of holiday fluff for any Team Bates fans out there ✨

With thanks to @lemacd123 and @thank-god-and-you and also to all of you who keep the fandom alive

Summary: While the Bates family prepares for their first Christmas after leaving Downton, Johnny gains new perspective on what makes a Christmas tree special.

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Big Downton Abbey fan here. Are you hearing anything about the third movie coming out next year? —Les The third movie, due out in September, is “charming, and funny… a real love letter to all those characters,” says longtime Downton producer Gareth Neame (also an EP on Day of the Jackal). “It has a big new principal plot, but actually is chockablock with character, with their individual stories, with romance and with comedy. It’s a real spectacle, and I think the fans, hopefully, will really enjoy it. We’re just about finished editing it.”

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Along with this opportunity, the accomplished actress also wrapped up shooting the third Downton Abbey movie with the beloved cast in the summer. The last in the trilogy is set to premiere in theaters on September 12, 2025. Playing Mrs. Beryl Patmore, this will mark the end of an era.

While Nicol is tightlipped about what fans can expect to see in the movie, she did say it “was made with much love and commitment as always. I hope people like it,” The 71-year-old opened up about the filming experience. “It was a strange feeling on set because you realize this is the last time we’ll ever do it, and we’ve been doing it for 14 years,” she said. “That’s a long time and a very bonded family.”

As one would imagine, the loss of the legendary Maggie Smith in September hit Nicol and the other crew hard. She played Violet Crawley before the Dowager Countess of Grantham died in the second film. “To lose Maggie was terrible,” Nicol said.

She continued, “On the other hand, I think she wasn’t well and it wasn’t a nice way to exist. I’m a firm believer because this was drummed into me by doctor dad, which is just being around ill is not the way to live. I hope it was the right time for her to move on. {Maggie} wasn’t in the {third and} last film obviously because {Violet} died in the last one. She was missed because she was a great person to have around. She was highly entertaining and greatly loved by all of us. There was a tinge of sadness for sure.”

Thinking of the holidays, Christmas was always a special time for Downton Abbey, A show known for its yuletide episodes throughout the British drama’s six seasons. Nicol liked it because this often meant a change of scenery.

“Often I’d get a trip to the house,” she said. “The place that is Downton Abbey was probably an hour away from London. Because I was constantly in the kitchen, quite rightly because she would be, but I didn’t get trips over there often. When it was Christmas there all seemed to be a party or something around the Christmas tree or a family get-together I got to join them. I’ve got memories of a big Christmas in that big Abbey. It looks very nice at Christmas. It suits it very well. I’ve got some good memories there and filming those."

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Hugh Bonneville has revealed that the third Downton Abbey film – which is being billed as the franchise's last – will be a fitting tribute to the late Maggie Smith.

Speaking on Virgin Radio UK, Bonneville revealed more about the movie, saying: "We finished a third – and I think probably final – Downton Abbey film this summer, which will come out next September. That is a wonderful sort of closing off of all the stories, so it’s a proper film for the fans."

He went on: "It’s very much set in the house and saying goodbye to all these characters and we obviously say goodbye to Dame Maggie, which was very poignant on screen and now in real life. She’ll be sorely missed. But the final film will obviously be a great lasting tribute to her."

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 2, episode 1

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 1, episode 7

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 1, episode 6

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Maggie Smith as Lady Violet Crawley (Downton Abbey)

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Happy 14th birthday Downton Abbey // 26.09.2010 // original Downstairs cast

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 1, episode 5

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Tributes to Maggie from the Downton Cast and Crew (Part 2):

Part 1

Hugh Bonneville (in addition to his previous comment):

Elizabeth McGovern:

Joanne Froggatt: "Today we lost a true legend. It’s hard to find the words to pay tribute to the iconic Dame Maggie Smith. I shared a screen with her on very few occasions but was fortunate enough to be in her company on many. She truly was a trailblazer, with the sharpest wit, the greatest talent, the naughtiest sense of humour, she was a force to be reckoned with. She had a charisma that you felt would live for ever (in many ways it will) and underneath all of that a huge heart. Thank you Maggie, for always being supportive and kind to me, for putting many a smile on my face with that sharp wit that no one could match, and for showing the rest of us just how it’s done.

Rest in peace Dame Maggie, my thoughts are with your beautiful family. 🖤"

Lily James:

Tom Cullen: "I remember a very specific part of the conversation Maggie and I were having when this photo was taken. Maggie had been doing a big and challenging scene where she is reunited with her old flame played by Rade Serbedzija. I was stood at the back, out of frame and able to observe these incredible actors at their work. But for whatever reason Maggie felt like she wasn’t getting the scene right. Maggie took the smallest moment, came back and next take, simply, effortlessly, delivered a masterclass. She was extraordinary. The director called “cut” and we moved on. I was spellbound. During our conversation at the window, I asked Maggie what she did in order for her to so swiftly and precisely produce such an elevated performance. I remember her looking me in the eye and saying “Oh darling! I was just holding in a fart!”. I remember us both bursting out laughing. I really wished that she had been just holding in a fart but of course that wasn’t the real truth, the real truth was that she worked tirelessly her entire career to make that scene look easy.

I only worked with her for a short while, but I feel so blessed to have had that experience. She was tough, demanded the best but making Maggie laugh felt like winning the lottery.

My heart goes out to her family, friends, her Downton family and all those she touched with her sharp, agile and acerbic brilliance.

We lost an absolute giant today 💔"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tom Cullen (@tom_cullen)

Lesley Nicol: "It's a very close group of people so we're all devastated to think she's not around any more.' [...] "I'd never worked with someone of that calibre, and I thought, I don't know what I'll say to her, it will be really tricky, God she'll probably be really grand. She was not looking for anyone to be scared of her, or in awe of her, she just wanted to be in the gang [...] she was in with the crowd, and just very happy to be part of it all."

Jeremy Swift: "An honour to serve you Maggie."

Lady Carnarvon: "I never saw her on set with a little script, she knew it before she got here [to Highclere]. She worked so hard, to get up at silly o' clock... and to wear corsets for hours on end." [Highclere Castle's post]

Harriet Walter: "She was a true comedian, but also I've seen her playing some incredibly heartfelt, deep, sad roles, which is the huge range of an actress like her. If she was merely funny or merely tragic, she wouldn't quite have made that sort of impression."

Anna Mary Scott Robbins: "I C O N 🤍 Oh Maggie you will be missed 💔"

(special thanks to @lovelikewildness for helping to compile)

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Tributes to Maggie from the Downton Cast and Crew:

Julian Fellowes: “Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career.  She was a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking.  Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.”

Gareth Neame: "Maggie Smith was one of the greatest actors of our time and a much-loved member of the Downton family. In Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Maggie created one of the finest screen performances we have seen across six seasons of the television series and two movies, spanning twelve years. The entire cast and crew of Downton Abbey considered it an enormous honor to work with her, she was an actress of such stature whose incredible talent could encompass high comedy and full-blown tragedy. Off-screen she was particularly close to the cast who played the other members of her family and was very generous and full of encouragement for the younger actors. It is personally poignant that my late grandfather directed one of her finest performances in ’The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ for which she won her first Academy Award. Jean Brodie and Violet Grantham are but two creations in an extraordinary career spanning decades and delighting audiences across the globe. There is only one Maggie Smith and she will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with her family.”

Hugh Bonneville: "Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent. She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Michelle Dockery: "There was no one quite like Maggie. I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family."

Dan Stevens | Jessica Brown Findlay:

Alastair Bruce: "What a great privilege it was to work with her & play a small part in her creation of Violet Countess of Grantham. A titan of the filmocracy, Maggie embodied the aristocracy with absolute ease: she made us gasp, shudder and laugh. She was #TheBestOfThem"

Peter Egan: "Very sad to see that this giant talent has fallen"

Amy Nuttall:

Charlie Watson:

And surely more to come in the following days (and some I've likely missed already, my apologies).

Some from official accounts affiliated with the show and movies:

Peacock's video

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No one can deny how much Maggie Smith was a part of Downton Abbey, and certainly played a role in its popularity and success. While Violet was most known for her humorous quips ("what is a week-end" is still iconic), Maggie also played Violet with a deep gravitas that demonstrated a master class in acting. RIP Dame Maggie, you will always be one of the great ones 💔

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 1, episode 4

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 1, episode 2

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DOWNTON ABBEY REWATCH 2024 season 1, episode 1