2025 marks the release date of the third Downton Abbey, The Grand Finale, intended to be the definitive conclusion to the series that started in 2010. After 15 years, the abbey will close its doors for good and one of British TV's most popular exports will finally come to an end.

It has been a long time coming. The series itself finished with a Christmas special back in 2015, but creator Julian Fellowes brought the cast back for a spin off feature film in 2019 before another in 2022. Its popularity is at times perplexing. Downton Abbey is hardly original- as a period drama, it's not a patch on Brideshead Revisited, it's not even the best thing Fellowes has written (a lot of it is lifted directly for the screenplay he wrote for Gosford Park).

The aristocracy aren't all that interesting as characters and their various trials and tribulations are rarely realistic. Even the two films that have come before are stilted and rigid, more like extended TV movies than legitimate big screen endeavours.

However, there is a key reason why Downton Abbey has endured and it's to do with a cast member whose absence from the finale will be conspicuous- Dame Maggie Smith. Although she was never intended to be in the film, her character Violet Crawley having passed away in the second film, A New Era, her real life death in September 2024 is impossible to ignore.

Downton Abbey without Maggie Smith is unthinkable. It shouldn't be happening, it's like Doctor Who without the TARDIS. She is woven so deeply into the fabric of its DNA the new film seems like an afterthought, an unnecessary hanger on purely existing to make money.

Is there an audience for Downton Abbey without Maggie Smith? The series was popular but it ended 10 years ago. In fact, it's debatable if Smith herself was the reason it finished. It can't be a coincidence that Fellowes announced the sixth series would be the last after Smith had already said she didn't want to make anymore. It took a great deal of persuading to get her to return for the films.

Smith had already amassed an astonishing career when she was cast in the series. One of just 14 people to win the Triple Crown of Acting, she had worked solidly for nearly sixty years, quietly perfecting her craft. The explosive success of Downton Abbey caught her off guard. Not even Harry Potter, where she played Professor McGonagall in all but one of the films, could compare with the colossal uptick in notoriety that came her way.

When people think of Downton Abbey, or are asked to name someone in it, chances are Smith will be the first person that comes to mind. Smith's portrayal of Violet Crawley has outshone the series itself. Her delicious put downs, such as ‘I don't argue, I explain!, ‘If I were to look for logic, I would not find it among the British upper classes' and ‘vulgarity is no substitute for wit' have become memes in their own right (a concept that would have utterly confounded Violet)

Smith's waspish demeanour, her ability to deliver a line and her presence in every scene she appears in is what shines through most in Downton Abbey. Smith was a consummate professional who spent seventy years in the industry, she had forgotten more about acting than most people ever know. She seemed incapable of giving a bad performance, even in ‘lesser' projects like Hook, the Marigold Hotel films and Keeping Mum.

Violet Crawley is a role only she could play. To some extent, she already had- Violet shares remarkable similarities to Countess Trentham, whom she had been Oscar-nominated for playing in Gosford Park. She is one of several ‘titled' ladies in Smith's rollcall of characters. And yet, because of Smith's natural flair and talent, she is somehow fresh and unique.

Downton Abbey is populated with many great actors, including Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Dan Stevens, Penelope Wilton, Imelda Staunton and Lily James. All of them are outclassed by Smith, who made it all seem so effortless. Maybe that's what it was, as she would later claim her role in Downton wasn't really ‘acting'

Smith's importance to Downton Abbey can be defined by the many accolades she was awarded for her work on the series, including three Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe and four Screen Actors' Guild Awards. She was one of only two cast members, the other being Joanne Froggatt, to win an individual acting award instead of an ensemble one. She appeared in every episode and both previous spin offs before her character died.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, as its cast and crew have stated many times, will be a ‘touching' tribute to both Smith and the character she played. Surely the best tribute would have been not to make the film at all? There's a reason Violet's death is the big emotional centrepiece of A New Era. Smith had worked less frequently in the years before her death in 2024 and Violet as a character had become increasingly frailer.

The acid tongue was still there. The withering look was ever present. But there was a sadness to Violet, a finality, a lifetime coming to an end. Smith herself made only one more film before her death, The Miracle Club (2023) and did not promote it.

Having Violet pass the torch onto the next generation would be a great way to say ‘it's time to put this to bed now'. Ending things with a film Smith appeared in makes more sense than one where she's only present in photographs. Every time Violet is mentioned, it will simply hit home that Smith isn't there.

Fellowes wouldn't like to admit that Downton Abbey can't exist without Maggie Smith. And maybe The Grand Finale will end up being a fitting farewell after 15 years. The truth is, though, Downton Abbey was never about the Crawleys or their servants. It was never about the social gatherings and scandals. Had that been the case, it would have ended much sooner. No, Downton Abbey thrived because Maggie Smith enriched it, as she did with everything during her glittering career.

Her death was met with a wave of tributes, praising her dedication, her craft and her professionalism. She filmed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) during treatment for breast cancer. She grew tired of Downton Abbey and the burden it placed on her, but came back, series after series, film after film, year after year, never once losing the spark that had inspired so many around her.

It's been almost twelve months since the acting world lost Maggie Smith. They are missing a titan. Downton Abbey has lost its beating heart. Now, all that's left is the pomp.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will release in UK Cinemas September 12th

Podcast