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Dame Maggie Smith: 'I don't watch Downton Abbey'

Feb 15, 2013, 2:01 GMT

Dame Maggie Smith

Dame Maggie Smith has never watched 'Downton Abbey'.

Although the 78-year-old actress stars as the formidable Dowager Countess Violet Crawley on the show, she admitted she has never tuned in to watch her performance onscreen.

Speaking on '60 Minutes', she said: 'I don't sit down and watch it. I haven't watched it.

'I will look at it when it's all over, maybe. Because it's frustrating - I always see things that I would like to do differently and think, 'Oh, why in the name of God did I do that?''

Despite winning numerous awards - including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, two Emmys, and a Screen Actors Guild Award - for playing the countess, Maggie insists she has no interest in fame.

She said: 'I don't feel any different to the way I felt before, and I'm not quite sure what [being a star] means. I am familiar to people now, which is what I was not before. That is entirely due to the television set.'

Maggie's 'Quartet' co-star Billy Connolly recently revealed he would love a role on 'Downton Abbey' because he wants to work with Maggie again.

He explained: 'I loved working with Dame Maggie Smith. She's hilarious, so funny in between takes and then they say action and she can turn it on like that.

'She's amazing and the things she comes out with, real acidic comments, it's brilliant. She is a bit like the character on 'Downton'.'