When the Downton Abbey story concludes with its Grand Finale film — in theaters on Friday, September 12 — one notable family member will be felt but not seen. Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, died at the end of the second film, 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era , and actor Maggie Smith died at age 89 last year.

But Elizabeth McGovern , who plays Violet’s daughter-in-law Cora Crawley, doesn’t “feel there’s a big hole” without Smith, as she told The Guardian in a new interview. “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,” she added.

Carnival Films for Masterpiece/PBS/Everett Collection

It seems McGovern isn’t knocking the late Smith but rather saying the Crawley family r

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