Dame Maggie Smith has reportedly told Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes that the third series of the popular show will be her last.

“She is filming until August and then wants to leave, going out on a high. She thinks that three series is enough and she wants to get back to the stage and big screen,” a source said.

“She is keen to pursue other roles so Julian is preparing to write her out. He [Fellowes] always has several endings so it won’t be too difficult for him, but losing Maggie will be a great loss.”

Downton Abbey

Cara Theobald will play a new kitchen maid called Ivy in the Carnival Films period drama, while it has also been confirmed that Lucille Sharp has joined as lady’s maid Miss Reed.

Last week, it was revealed that Matt Milne, the star of War Horse, had signed up to play a footman named Alfred.

In January, Oscar-nominated actress Shirley MacLaine was brought in to portray Martha Levinson, the mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern). Sharp’s Miss Reid is to serve as Martha Levinson’s maid in the Julian Fellowes-penned piece.

Downton Abbey is expected to return with a new series on ITV later this year.

(source)

Shirley MacLaine’s illustrious career comprises more than 50 feature films highlighted by an Academy Award® win and six nominations, six Emmy® Awards nominations and seven Golden Globe® Awards, including the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also an international best-selling author for her 2008 book, “Sage-Ing While Age-Ing” followed by her latest New York Times best-seller, “I’m Over All That – And Other Confessions,” released on April 5th, 2011.
Carnival Films’ Managing Director, Gareth Neame said, “My late grandfather directed Shirley MacLaine in Gambit in 1966 so it is a delight for me that she will be joining us on Downton Abbey. Julian has written another brilliant character in Martha Levinson, who will be a wonderful combatant for Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess and we are excited at the prospect of Shirley MacLaine playing her.”

Laura Mackie, Director of Drama at ITV said, “It is so exciting to have an actress of Shirley MacLaine’s stature joining our brilliant Downton Abbey cast for series three and a tribute to the show’s success on both sides of the Atlantic”.

The first series of Downton Abbey premiered on ITV in the U.K. and on MASTERPIECE on PBS in the U.S. to critical acclaim and collected a number of awards including six Primetime Emmys®, a Golden Globe® and a Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television. The second series increased its audience by 20% in the U.K. and is currently transmitting in the U.S. with an increase of almost 30%.

Downton Abbey, written and created by Julian Fellowes, is a Carnival/Masterpiece co-production. The producer is Liz Trubridge and the executive producers are Gareth Neame, Managing Director, Carnival Films, Julian Fellowes and Rebecca Eaton, Masterpiece.

Airing January 8, 15, 22, 29 and February 5,12, & 19 on PBS

Downton Abbey’s Granthams and their family of servants have already weathered scoundrels, scandals, and a momentous succession crisis. But by November, 1916, the Great War has rendered everything — and everyone — changed. Even Downton Abbey itself, like its residents, has risen to the call of duty and transformed.

At the war front, life intensifies for Downton’s young men in the face of untold horrors. Meanwhile, at Downton, war makes new and often unjust demands. Some rise to its call for a stiff upper lip and a useful turn, and others see change as an opportunity for either growth or exploitation. Far from the trenches, there remains no shortage of scheming, meddling, and dangerous attractions.

As other great houses crumble, a diminished Downton Abbey struggles to prevail into a new era with its residents and its honor intact. Maggie Smith (David Copperfield, Gosford Park), Elizabeth McGovern (A Room With A View), Michelle Dockery (Return to Cranford), and Dan Stevens (Sense and Sensibility) return with an all-star cast to season two of Julian Fellowes’ Emmy Award winning drama, Downton Abbey.

Episodes - Cast

Christmas 1919. Downton Abbey is hosting a lavish Christmas party, yet despite being the season of goodwill, tensions are rife and Bates’s arrest has cast a shadow over the festivities. Will he be a condemned man or will he be found innocent in time for the annual servants ball?

Mary has to consider her future with Sir Richard Carlisle following a contretemps at the shooting party and Violet has concerns about Rosamund, whose new suitor – the dashing but raffish Lord Hepworth, is not all he seems.

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