Julian Fellowes: 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is haunted by Maggie Smith'

Julian Fellowes wanted the final Downton Abbey film to be "haunted" by the late actress Maggie Smith.

The acting legend, who passed away in 2024 aged 89, played the formidable family matriarch Lady Violet Crawley in all six seasons of the ITV drama, as well as two film adaptations.

Her character's death was written into the 2022 film Downton Abbey: A New Era, and creator Fellowes wanted Violet to be a constant presence in the latest release, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

"I think we all felt that if there was a third film, we wanted it to be haunted by Maggie," Fellowes explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "There is a theme of Maggie going through the film, and then at the end, you see her when Mary (Crawley) is having all her flashbacks. I like that. She was an iconic figure... And that's another reason to finish."

Elsewhere, Fellowes touched upon Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale being the last in the series.

He admitted the Downton team would have been "pushing our luck" to release another big screen adaptation and insisted the cast had also felt it was the right time to move on.

"I think the actors had had enough - in the nicest way," Fellowes shared. "There were a lot of good friendships and we'll always meet as members of the Downton club... But I also feel that, in life, you must know when to let go of things, whether it's professional or romantic or anything else. There is a moment when you think, 'It's time to bring this to an end.'"

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in cinemas now.