Maggie Smith Says She'll Leave 'Downton Abbey' After Next Season

Dame Maggie Smith said she will be leaving Downton Abbey after the next season, even as speculation circles that next season will be the show’s last.

“They say this is the last one, and I can’t see how it could go on,” the 80-year-old legendary actress told the Sunday Times. “I mean, I certainly can’t keep going… To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now. We’re into the late 1920s.”

“One isn’t safe after doing Downton. What’s sad is I’ve gone through my whole life without any of that. I could go round galleries and things on my own and I just can’t do it now. If someone decides to get at you, you can’t get away,” Maggie said about the fame.

“What’s awful is it used to be just autographs, but now everyone wants photographs,” Maggie added about the fame Downton Abbey has given in regards to fans. “You begin to feel like all those people who believed photographs took the soul away. There’s nothing like privacy, but nobody will have that soon. Nobody’s private any more.”