Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes: Dame Maggie Smith was blessing in my life

Dame Maggie Smith death

Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellowes has said Dame Maggie Smith was a “blessing in my life” as he recalled her wit and kindness to younger performers on set.

The star of screen and stage, who died in hospital on Friday morning aged 89, portrayed Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in the hit ITV drama, the matriarch known for her sharp one-liners through the show’s six series and two films.

With a career spanning 70 years, the Oscar-winning actress has been remembered for her versatile repertoire ranging from Shakespeare to the Harry Potter franchise, with her co-stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint among those to pay tribute.

Lord Fellowes, who first worked with Dame Maggie on the Oscar-winning period drama Gosford Park, recalled the “extraordinary precision” she had in her work.

He told BBC Breakfast: “She took Violet and made her a rather immortal character. And my great joy, I suppose, is that we were part of making sure that Maggie didn’t fade into the background as most actors do towards the end of their career, she probably was as famous as she’d ever been on the last day of her life.”

The writer and Conservative peer also remembered her as being “very witty” and “very sharp in her humour” but with an “underlying warmth” which she would share with younger members of the cast.

“Maggie was very kind to them, very encouraging, very nice, a real sort of mother of the company, which isn’t always what you would think of her as,” he said.

“But actually, I think it made it for them a very rewarding experience.”

After working with her on multiple films and on Downton Abbey, Lord Fellowes said he felt like they “really had each other’s rhythm”.

“I knew how to write for her, but my God, she knew how to say it and I’ve never had it said better. So as far as I’m concerned, she was a blessing in my life”, he added.

Michelle Dockery, who played Dame Maggie’s on-screen granddaughter in Downton Abbey, Lady Mary Crawley, said there was “no one quite like Maggie” in a statement.

“I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family”, she added.

The King and Queen hailed Dame Maggie as a “national treasure” and said they joined the world in remembering her with “the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances”.

The British star, who won two Academy Awards for her performances in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite, won over Harry Potter fans later in life as the quick-witted, kind and formidable Professor McGonagall.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played the young wizard, recalled how she who could “intimidate and charm in the same instant”, while Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, said she has “come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness”.

Rupert Grint, who portrayed Ron Weasley, said he felt “incredibly lucky” to have worked with Dame Maggie as he shared a photo of them dancing in the film series to Instagram.

“She was so special, always hilarious and always kind. I feel incredibly lucky to have shared a set with her and particularly lucky to have shared a dance,” he wrote.

Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, thanked Dame Maggie for looking out for the cast of young actors from day one of filming and for “showing us the way”, adding: “There quite simply was no one like her.”

Sir Paul McCartney remembered the veteran actress as a “great person with a wicked sense of humour” as he recalled having dinner together over the years.

“I first met her in the 1960s and had the occasional dinner with her so I knew her personality was irreverent and fun loving from the beginning”, he wrote in an Instagram post which featured a photo from her younger days.

He added: “She will be missed but remembered with great fondness and love. Cheers Maggie. Love ya! Paul.”

Dame Maggie had multiple Olivier Award wins having appeared in the National Theatre’s debut season in 1963, with tributes from the world of theatre remembering her greatness on the stage.

British theatre owner and producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh said she was the “master of the zinger” while the National Theatre’s Rufus Norris said her “sublime craft and sharp wit were simply legendary”.

Theatres in London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes at 7pm on Tuesday in memory of the actress.

Born in Ilford, east London, on December 28 1934, Dame Maggie was an internationally recognised actress for much of her life after playing the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

Her career of more than half a century brought her recognition almost from the beginning and she received an early Bafta nod for promising newcomer in 1959 for the crime film Nowhere To Go.

More Bafta nominations followed for Young Cassidy in 1966, Death On The Nile in 1979, California Suite in 1980, Quartet in 1982, The Secret Garden in 1994, Tea With Mussolini in 2000 and The Lady In The Van in 2016.

She won best actress gongs for The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, A Private Function and The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne.

Her final roles included The Miracle Club, which follows a group of women from Dublin who go on a pilgrimage to the French town of Lourdes, and 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, in which her character Violet dies.

She was made a dame in 1990 and her array of accolades include a fellowship and a special award from Bafta, as well as becoming a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2014.

She was treated for breast cancer and said in 2009 it had knocked her confidence to the extent that she became afraid of returning to the stage.

Despite this, she was in 2009’s Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince and continued with 2010 adventure film From Time To Time, 2011’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and 2014 drama My Old Lady.

She was nominated for six Oscars, winning best actress in 1970 for her title role in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie, and a supporting actress gong in 1979 for comedy California Suite.

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