‘Downton Abbey’ cast remembers the magic of working with late Dame Maggie Smith

“Downtown Abbey” stars are missing their co-star, Dame Maggie Smith, nearly a year after she passed away.

Kevin Doyle, Allen Leech and Hugh Bonneville reflected on their time working with the late legend while promoting their new film, “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” in an interview with Page Six earlier this week.

Doyle — who portrays Joseph Molesley, a butler-turned-screenwriter — remembered how Smith loved to sit off camera and chit-chat with other cast members on set.

Hugh Bonneville, Allen Leach, and Kevin Doyle shared their memories of working with the late Dame Maggie Smith in an interview with Page Six this week. Page Six

Smith played Violet Crawley in the series and two of the spinoff movies. ©PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection

“She loved the girls, didn’t she?” he said, referencing Smith’s on-screen granddaughters played by actresses Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael.

“She had a lovely relationship with the girls,” he explained. “It was just lovely to see somebody like her, relaxed and just chatting away and telling stories.”

Leech — who plays the chauffeur-turned-estate manager Tom Branson — agreed with Doyle, 65, adding that Smith “loved other actors.”

“[She] loved acting. She loved work,” Leech reminisced.

Doyle said that Smith would chat with cast members on set, including her co-stars Laura Carmichael and Michelle Dockery. ©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

Bonneville loved when Shirley MacLaine and Smith would gossip about old Hollywood on set. ©PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection

Bonneville — who plays Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham — treasured the memories Smith created when Shirley MacLaine was a special guest star on the series.

“[Smith and MacLaine] were just nattering about the old days and meeting at the Oscars,” the “Paddington” star recalled, adding that they schmoozed about presenting at the Oscars and told stories about Gene Kelly and Laurence Olivier.

“And you know, I just sat there taking the crumbs from their table,” Bonneville said.

Smith — who died on Sept. 27, 2024 at the age of 89 — delighted global audiences with her portrayal of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. The role won her three Emmys and immortalized lines like “What is a weekend?” and “Don’t be defeatist, dear. It’s very middle-class.”

Smith passed away in 2024 at the age of 89. ©PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

Her character died in the 2022 movie, “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” ©PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection

The drama, which premiered in 2010, was only expected to air for three seasons, Bonneville shared. However, the show ended up running for six seasons until 2015 and subsequently spawned three spinoff movies.

Smith starred in the 2019 film, “Downton Abbey,” and her character’s death was a major plot in the 2022 movie, “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” This year’s film marks the first project in which her co-stars revived their roles without Smith by their side.

Bonneville, 61, confessed that he had no idea the show and movies would become such a worldwide phenomenon.

“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” is the third and final movie spinoff from the show. ©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

Bonneville told Page Six that producers thought the show would last for just three seasons. ©PBS/Courtesy Everett Collection

“We kept being told that costume drama is dead and nobody’s interested in this sort of show,” he said. “So we were fortunate to prove the world wrong!”

Leech, 44, attributed the success of the franchise to the show’s creator, Julian Fellowes.

“I think, underlying it all, is a generosity of spirit which shines through in Julian’s writing,” Leech opined. “He always says [that] he writes from a default position, that people try to be good.”

He continued, “Yes, they do bad things, but they try to be good and try to get on in society.”