"Downton Abbey" has taken its final bow when the curtains closed on its season finale aired on Christmas day and yet Maggie Smith is yet to see an episode of the hit UK history drama series. The final season is set to premiere in the US next year.
Maggie Smith, also famous for her role as Professor McGonagall in the "Harry Potter" franchise, plays the role of the Dowager Countess. Two years ago, she told CBS that she has not yet seen any of the show. Recently, after the filming concluded, she was asked again in an interview aired on Sunday Morning, and she said, "No. But they gave me the boxed set. And I'm going to do all sorts of things now, 'cause I'm free!"
She also told her interviewee that she's done with all the corsets. "In actual fact, I have to say that I did cheat a bit. Because I promised that if I sat up, bolt upright, I made it look as though I were wearing corsets."
In related news, the producer of the show said that the decision to end the hit series came when Smith decided to leave the show, according to The Sun. Gareth Neame said, "We easily could have gone for a 7th season, but if I'd have said 'We haven't got Maggie' it would have been a shadow of itself."
"We all feel very blessed. Nobody regrets ending when we did. We have a final season that's as strong as the first because we quit while we were ahead. We had the ambition that we had a complete show."
The good news is, we haven't seen the last of the actress yet. She has a new movie titled. "The Lady In The Van." She plays Miss Shepherd, a real life woman who has lived in a van for the last 15 years. It is the exact opposite of her role in "Downton Abbey."