Inside Dame Maggie Smith's two-decade 'feud' with Downton Abbey co-star

The late Dame Maggie Smith once had a reported feud with her Downton Abbey co-star, Richard E. Grant. It’s claimed she caught the actor “nodding off” while the pair filmed scenes on the award-winning historical drama.

Maggie, who died on Friday (September 27), aged 89, portrayed Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in all six seasons of Downton Abbey, as well as the two film adaptations which serve as a continuation of the series. Meanwhile, Richard, 67, made an appearance in series five of the show as art historian, Simon Bricker.

During his two-episode stint, the actor’s character escorted Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (played by Elizabeth McGovern) to an art museum. He was later booted out of the family’s ancestral home by Cora’s husband, Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville).

According to MailOnline, Maggie and Richard allegedly feuded on the set of Downton after she caught him “nodding off” during filming. “Maggie called him ‘Richard E. Can’t’ on set,” a reported source told the publication.

“It’s a nickname she originally gave him years ago when they acted together in The Importance of Being Earnest, but she resurrected it when she caught him nodding off during a scene. She told him sternly: ‘If I can stay awake, you should be able to too.’

“To be fair to Richard, it was a dinner scene being filmed on a hot day and the lights were boiling,” they added.

Maggie and Richard initially became co-stars on the 1993 BBC adaptation of Suddenly Last Summer before working together on the theatrical production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest.

“I was tortured by Maggie Smith the entire time,” recounted Richard. “I’m still amazed that anyone can be so inventive in the ways they can demolish you, but she did.”

He went on to claim that he “suffered six months” of torture at the hands of Maggie but insisted she was a “brilliant actress”.

“I couldn’t resign because then I’d regard it as a terrible failure and that she had won, but I often wished that they’d fire me.

“After the first three months, I no longer gave a f**k, and finally started to enjoy myself. But before that, well, it was just horrible.”

Eight years later the pair worked together again when they were cast in the 2001 period drama, Gosford Park with Michael Gambon, Laurence Fox and Helen Mirren.

Maggie’s two sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens announced their mother had died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a statement released by a publicist.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.

“She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” they continued.

The likes of This Morning’s Gyles Brandreth and Hugh have led the tributes to the national treasure, with the former taking to X to write: “The saddest news: the death of Dame Maggie Smith marks the end of a golden era & a quite extraordinary life.

“She was a truly great actress, ‘one of the greats’ & simply the best company: wise, witty, waspish, wonderful. One of a kind in every way & consequently irreplaceable.”

Hugh told BBC that anyone who had shared a scene with Maggie in the past would “attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances,” he added. “My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Meanwhile, Downton's creator Julian has praised the late legend for being a "joy" to write for. In a statement, issued to Variety, he said: "She was a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking. Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.”

Before her death, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie favourite featured in a campaign with Spanish fashion house, Loewe.

In various pictures featured in Vogue last October, she posed for photographs with various leather goods, including the brand’s signature Puzzle Bag.