Maggie Smith tells Graham Norton she 'never watched Downtown Abbey'

Maggie Smith admitted to host Graham Norton that she has 'never watched Downton Abbey' and was 'delighted' when it ended in a clip that has resurfaced following the beloved actress' death aged 89.

After the Harry Potter favourite passed away in the hospital on Friday, the hilarious video from 2015 on Graham Norton's iconic talk show was re-circulated online.

The late British acting legend starred on the period drama as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, from 2010 to 2015 - which is still remembered as one of her most prominent roles.

But despite still being hailed for her brilliant performance and witty one-liners, the Oscar-winner admitted she was satisfied with the series coming to an end.

'So are you, in a way, sort of glad that Downton's over?,' the presenter asked, to which Maggie didn't hesitate to reply: 'Oh yeah.'

Causing host Graham to burst into laughter, she added: 'No, I really am. Honestly, she was about, by the time we had finished she must have been a hundred and ten so I couldn't go on and on. 

'I couldn't! It just didn't make sense.'

When asked if she ever watched the British period drama herself, she hesitated and then gave a cheeky look to the presenter.

Graham struggled to contain his laughter, as he insisted: 'Did you not?,' but Maggie confirmed she didn't by shaking her head.

'I've got the box set. So I can watch it,' she added leaving the audience in stitches.

The British star was known for prominent roles as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter franchise, as well as her Academy Award-winning performance in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.

Paying tribute to his former co-star, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint - who played Ron Weasley in the franchise - updated his Instagram profile picture to a sweet throwback of the pair. 

Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville - who played her son in the show - also paid tribute. 

He told the BBC: 'Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

'She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.'

Dan Stevens - who played Matthew Crawley in the period drama - spoke out on his Instagram Story, writing 'Truly one of The Greats. RIP' alongside two pictures of his former co-star.

Gyles Brandreth was also quick to pay tribute and called the late actress 'one of a kind in every way'.

Brandreth shared a photo of him with Smith on X, formerly Twitter, and wrote: 'The saddest news: the death of Dame Maggie Smith marks the end of a golden era & a quite extraordinary life.

'She was a truly great actress, 'one of the greats' & simply the best company: wise, witty, waspish, wonderful.

'One of a kind in every way and consequently irreplaceable.'

He also paid tribute on Times Radio, saying she was 'a uniquely towering acting talent. I was just reflecting that one of the qualities that we have as a country is our history with theatre. 

'Our actors are considered world class and if you look at the top of the world class, Maggie Smith is up there with the greatest. She is one of the greats.

What is remarkable about her, and the reason I say she's one of the greats, is that she wasn't just an exceptionally successful actress who could do it all. She had a unique quality. 

'And I think to join the pantheon of the greatest, you have to have something about your voice, your look, your manner, that commands attention. She absolutely had that, right from the start. 

'And she wouldn't have regarded herself as either a comic actress or a classical actress. She could just do it all. She lacked personal vanity in the sense that she was able to play parts like The Lady in the Van, based on Alan Bennett's play, turned into a movie, which was not a glamorous role. But she could also be incredibly glamorous... She was just a wonderful star. She had star quality, and she had the highest standards.

'Sometimes people found her a little daunting, I think. Young actors, or even older actors, were a little bit nervous of her. They thought, what is she going to say because she could be caustic, she was witty. But if ever she was perceived as being difficult, it was only because she had the highest standards, both for herself and for other people.'

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American actress Whoopi Goldberg paid tribute to Dame Maggie Smith and said she felt 'lucky' to have worked alongside her in Sister Act, where Dame Maggie played Reverend Mother Superior while Goldberg portrayed Deloris Van Cartier.

Later on throughout the day, countless celebs flooded Maggie's social media accounts paying heartfelt tribute to the star. 

Dame Maggie won a best actress Oscar for the role in 1970.

Other film roles include her portrayal of a drunken Oscar loser in California Suite, the dying older lover in Love, Pain And The Whole Damn Thing, the tragic lodger in The Lonely Passion Of Judith Hearne, and the so-called 'funny old bat' in Gosford Park, which brought her a sixth Oscar nomination.

She starred alongside Dame Judi Dench in the 2004 film Ladies In Lavender, and on stage in the David Hare play The Breath Of Life.

One of her most famous roles was as a bag lady in The Lady In The Van, the 2015 adaptation of Alan Bennett's memoirs.

She recently starred in the 2022's Downton Abbey: A New Era, where Violet's health deteriorates and she dies in an emotional end to her character.

The next year, she appeared in The Miracle Club, which follows a group of women from Dublin who go on a pilgrimage to the French town of Lourdes.

Dame Maggie's second husband, the playwright Beverley Cross who she married in 1975, died in 1998.

She had two sons from her first marriage, Stephens and Larkin, who are both actors.