Maggie Smith to be honoured in Downton Abbey 3, confirms executive producer

Late star Maggie Smith will be honoured with a special tribute in the third Downton Abbey movie. As per Variety, executive producer Gareth Neame confirmed that the third film will include a tribute to both the character and Maggie Smith herself. Maggie died at the age of 89 on September 27.

“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,” Gareth 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.”

Throughout her career, Maggie played a variety of memorable roles in films. She was part of the ensemble cast in Murder by Death (1976), starred as the strict yet humorous Mother Superior in Sister Act (1992), and appeared in Hook (1991) alongside Robin Williams as Granny Wendy.

Later in her career, she played a cantankerous retiree in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), delighting audiences with her wit and charm. Her television work was also impressive.

In addition to her Emmy-winning role in Downton Abbey, Maggie starred in My House in Umbria, which also earned her an Emmy Award. She was nominated for other television roles, including as Mrs Venable in Suddenly Last Summer and as Betsey Trotwood in the BBC miniseries David Copperfield, where she worked alongside a young Daniel Radcliffe before he was cast as Harry Potter.

Maggie’s personal life was marked by her long-lasting marriage to playwright Beverley Cross, whom she married in 1975 and stayed with until his death in 1998. Before that, she was married to actor Robert Stephens, with whom she had two sons, both of whom followed in her footsteps and became actors themselves.

Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens have enjoyed successful careers in film and television, carrying on their mother’s legacy in the acting world.