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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Downton Abbey Boss Addresses Maggie Smith Departure Buzz: 'It's Entirely Up to Her'-TVLine

Maggie Smith Downton Abbey

Here's an article by TVLine's Michael Ausiello, which talks about a conversation that he recently had with the creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, where Fellowes addressed the rumors about the possibility of Maggie Smith leaving Downton Abbey. Here's an excerpt from the article, which includes Fellowes' response to these rumors:



In short, the ball is in her court.

“I can’t tell you, ‘Oh, yes, she’s definitely contracted [for Season 4] — because she isn’t,” Fellowes admitted to me Saturday during a media-packed day at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills. “It’s entirely up to her when she stays and when she goes.”

As TVLine reported back in March, most of Downton‘s principal cast — including Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary), Elizabeth McGovern (Cora), Hugh Bonneville (Robert), Joanne Froggatt (Anna) and Brendan Coyle (Bates) — are signed on through a potential fourth and fifth season. Smith, however, opted against making a formal long-term commitment.

“With Maggie, you never know,” shrugged Fellowes. “Other [actors] sign on for the next series and they sign for this and they sign for that, but she doesn’t. She stays her own person.

“But as far as I’m concerned,” he adds, “I hope she stays with the show until Downton falls down.”

Fellowes, meanwhile, squashed speculation that another Downton fixture — leading man Dan Stevens, who plays Matthew — may be eying an early exit. “Dan is in the show,” he maintained. “A lot of stuff started up because he’s going to be on Broadway [this fall in The Heiress], but it’s a limited run. He’s only in it for three months, but of course everyone pounced on that.”

Downton‘s third season is expected to bow stateside in early 2013.



Link to the full article:Maggie Smith Leaving Downton Abbey? - TVLine







My thoughts: I just recently started watching Downton Abbey, and Violet Crawley is one of my top favorite characters on the show, so I personally would hate to see Maggie Smith leave the show. I've always thought that Maggie Smith is a fantastic actress, so it would be an absolute shame to see Downton Abbey lose her as a member of the cast. If you ask me, the producers are extremely lucky to have Maggie Smith be a member of the cast of Downton Abbey.

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