Dame Maggie Smith's magic has not left the Downtown Abbey cast members, even after a year of her passing.
Kevin Doyle, Allen Leech and Hugh Bonneville sat down for an interview to promote their new film, Downtown Abbey: The Grand Finale, and reflected on their time working with the late legend.
Doyle, who portrays Joseph Molesley, a butler-turned-screenwriter in the fictional world, remembered how Smith adored interacting with other cast members when the cameras were off.
"She loved the girls, didn't she?" he recalled, referring to Smith's on-screen granddaughters played by actresses Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael.
"She had a lovely relationship with the girls," he explained. "It was just lovely to see somebody like her, relaxed and just chatting away and telling stories."
Leech agreed with the 65-year-old, adding that the Sister Act actress "loved other actors." He plays the chauffeur-turned-estate manager Tom Branson in the franchise.
Maggie Smith, who passed away on September 27, 2024, at the age of 89, charmed the Downtown Abbey's fans with her portrayal of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, which secured her three Emmys.
The historical drama, which premiered in 2010, was initially set to air for three seasons; however, the show ended up running for six seasons until 2015 and subsequently spawned three spinoff movies.
Smith starred in the 2019 film Downton Abbey, and her character's death was a major plot in the 2022 movie Downton Abbey: A New Era.
This year's film, Downtown Abbey: The Grand Finale, marks the first project in which her co-stars returned to the screen without Smith. The film premiered on Friday, September 12.