Downton Abbey Season 3 – status of Downton Abbey’s Dowager Countess?

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The future of Maggie Smith on Downton Abbey?

Season 3 of Downton Abbey is still filming, yet we’re already hearing wild rumors of the departure of a very important character: the Dowager Countess, Violet Crawley. It’s hard to tell if this is legit, as to me it sounds like hearsay, but I could totally understand Dame Maggie Smith’s want to step out of the spotlight of Downton Abbey while the show is still at its highest point. Smith, who has been in more movies than the years of my brother and I combined, has certainly earned the right to come and go as she pleases on any project, in my opinion.

TV Guide reported Smith had asked writer Julian Fellowes to have her character written out of the show during the third season, though she will stick around for the entirety of the season as well as the Christmas special. After her time on the show has concluded, she would return to theater and film to take on new projects. But how do you say goodbye to a character such as Violet Crawley? It seems the most likely way to write out the character is to have her contract some type of fatal illness, which she would likely receive the diagnosis for early to midway through the season and then have her pass away during the Christmas special. It certainly would be a heart wrenching way to go, to have her slowly die over the course of the season.

It was hinted at not too long ago that a key character would die during Downton Abbey’s Season 3, which adds some credibility to this rumor. Throwing some dirt on the fire is Carnival Films, which produces Downton Abbey. They made a statement, according to the NY Times, that Smith was not leaving and the reports of her departure were complete nonsense. There still isn’t any official word from Smith’s people, but does there need to be? I think it’s pretty clear this rumor was just that: a rumor.