Elizabeth McGovern found the late Dame Maggie Smith's absence from the new Downton Abbey film "freed up the narrative"

Elizabeth - who plays Cora Crawley - told The Guardian newspaper: "She's still very much in the atmosphere. I don't feel there's a big hole. In fact, in some ways, it sort of freed up the rest of the narrative to have a flow, because it's not stopping for her moments.

"But everything she represents is there. She's in every room, in every interaction, so it's not like she's not there. It's a weird thing."

Elizabeth admitted playing the American heiress could feel restrictive because of the treatment of women at the time.

Asked if the role could be challenging, she said: "At times, yes. I think as a contemporary woman, it is hard to feel the straitjacket of that period."

"I wish at times she could have had more interesting stories, [but it wouldn't have been appropriate for her to have] any more political or social power, because it just wouldn't be accurate to the time".

Maggie's character, Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, died near the end of the last movie, 2022's Downton Abbey: A New Era, and ex ecutive producer Gareth Neame previously admitted the actress' real life passing has added extra emotion to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

He told TV Line: "The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time, I do think, has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway.

"The loss of the Dowager, it now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch. But I also see actors mourning...and it feels more genuine and more meaningful."

And another Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale star, Hugh Bonneville, previously admitted it was "poignant" shooting the movie without Maggie.

Speaking on BBC's The One Show, he said: "It was quite poignant making the last film knowing that her character had passed away and then in real life, she passed away after we finished filming.

"So, really, this final film will be a proper tribute to her and to the show, which is coming to an end after 15 years."