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Is Maggie Smith Leaving Downton Abbey After Next Season?

And when will the show end?

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Tim Surette

Things around Downton Abbey may be getting a little warmer after next season.

Actress Maggie Smith, who plays the Dowager Countess on the PBS hit drama, says she's likely done after the upcoming sixth season of the show.

Smith also hinted that the series itself could call it quits after Season 6.

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"They say this is the last one, and I can't see how it could go on," Smith said in an interview with the Times of London. "I mean, [my character] certainly can't keep going. To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now. We're in to the late 1920s."

On Tuesday, Downton Abbey publicists claimed Smith's lighthearted comments were misinterpreted. "[Smith] has always been on the record as saying she'll be with the show for as long as the show runs," Milk Publicity told the Associated Press.

Speculation of the show's cancellation has been swirling for months, with some looking at Season 6 as a possible end. Creator Julian Fellowes is set to create the period drama The Gilded Age for NBC, but won't begin that until he's finished with Downton Abbey, which could mean it would happen sooner than later.

Season 5 of Downton Abbey just concluded in America on Sunday.

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