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Hugh Bonneville's farewell to Dame Maggie Smith and Downton Abbey
Oct 15, 2025
Hugh Bonneville joins Jamie and Amanda to talk all about Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. #DowntonAbbey #HughBonneville #MaggieSmith Subscribe for regular entertainment! http://bit.ly/1qyfc2T Watch videos in full + exclusives here: https://thisisheart.co/heartglobalplayer Honest Celebrity Interviews: https://thisisheart.co/honestinterviews Music Artists: https://thisisheart.co/3YVm8wN Film and TV Stars: https://thisisheart.co/filmandtv _ We're the UK's biggest commercial radio brand creating memorable moments with the most recognised names in entertainment!
View Video Transcript
0:00
I'm not facing the fact that this is the end
0:03
Oh, you're very sweet. I think it really is. Do you know? We've said goodbye so many flipping times
0:10
As we are joined by the wonderful Hugh Bonneville. Ooh, Lord Graham himself
0:16
And he's dressed for the party. He's wearing a three-piece suit with a very lovely buttery yellow tie
0:22
Do you know, it's not every day I wake up to hear Amanda Holden say to me, get close to the muff
0:27
Get close to the muff, which is the microphone. Microphone might be closed. Just in case anyone wasn't sure about that
0:34
But it's all about first impressions. So it's lovely to have you with us
0:37
You look fantastic and nice and tanned. Have you had a nice break
0:41
I'm often told that I think I've just got a general muddy demeanour. Oh. I haven't been anywhere sunny
0:47
Now I've been in a studio for the last seven weeks filming, so I don't know what it is. Oh, are you allowed to say what you've been doing
0:51
I've been filming a show called 2026, which is a spin-off of 2012 and W1A
0:57
Okay. which is it's all about a big football tournament next year oh my gosh that is going to be amazing
1:03
did you say a film or is it tv series about the world cup uh about we can't no you're allowed to
1:08
say that we can only say because world cup is branded yes we can't say either understood
1:15
a large football let's just walk ourselves through the um the downton cinematic universe
1:23
or DCU as we shall call it. Yes, it is very turning into Marvel, it is
1:28
So we have, I seem to remember we started with the Titanic going down, didn't we
1:32
So that, was that right? That was in 1912. That was in 2010, in 1912
1:38
Now we're in 2025 and we're in 1930. 30, okay. So we're now into the..
1:43
Great Depression. Yeah, we've leapt over the Depression because that was a bit complicated. So the crash, so we're now in 1930
1:49
Okay, okay. Yes, absolutely. So the film of it, the new downtown
1:53
It's out week Friday on the 12th. 12th of September. The grand finale
1:57
Now I going to say that I just don believe it going to be the end When we were watching it in the cinema we were privy to being there before everyone got to see it
2:08
There's been so many whoops, so many laughs, so many... If you've been a fan of it like I have
2:13
you'll remember, Hugh, that I turned up on set once with my newborn baby Holly
2:18
and the whole cast thought I was joining. I was like, no, I'm just a super fan. Keep your eyes on your scripts
2:24
I'm just watching the filming. Getting in the way. Getting in the way. Well, actually, Gareth Neame, who's the executive producer
2:30
had to take my baby off because she was crying and he took her off. Well, so I didn't..
2:34
It's such a shambolic set by this kind of thing. No, we were in the middle of filming a lovely cricket tea that day
2:41
But I was going to say, there are so many lovely sort of, I'm going to say little Easter eggs for the super fans like myself
2:47
where there's loads of whoops and loads of doors closing, but there's lots of new beginnings
2:51
I'm not facing the fact that this is the end. Oh, you're very sweet
2:56
I think it really is. Do you know? You say goodbye so many flipping times
3:01
Time to move on, Lord Grantham. Oh, really? Okay. Well, I'm going to give you a quote from Julian Fellows
3:09
He says, I don't know, every time I say never in this business
3:13
I find six months later, I'm doing exactly what I said I'd never do
3:17
Oh, God. That was him ruling out, not ruling out another instalment
3:22
Oh, my God. I don't know what you'd call it, the finale. It'd be like Elton John's farewell tour
3:27
Exactly! You've been doing it since 1975, isn't it? I don't want to spoil it
3:35
but it sort of does end with Lady Mary sort of looking at Downton Abbey and remembering
3:41
you know, it flips through lots of wonderful memories and then we obviously get to see Dame Maggie during that
3:48
But so you don't think that they could sort of take the franchise on with just maybe Lady Mary
3:54
Oh, they could. They could, they could. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I could be in a coffin
3:58
I think the fourth film could open with me in a coffin. So I get an appearance fee Just quickly give us a sort of a sense of where the family is and what happens then in the grand finale Well since Focus Features and their infinite wisdom have given away the entire plot in all the clips that are online
4:14
there are no spoilers left. So it opens with the fact that Lady Mary has brought scandal upon the family
4:21
and indeed high society by being divorced. And is she going to be shunned by the county
4:26
And she can't even be in the same room as a member of the royal family, which was a thing
4:30
Is it really? Well, considering we lost a king because he was going to marry a divorcee
4:34
you know, if you think about it. So it was at times they have changed, Jamie
4:38
And so what other stories are there? Well, there's... Well, Noel Coward makes an appearance
4:43
Noel Coward makes an appearance. That spoiler's gone. That wasn't Dad's image
4:47
No, it wasn't. They just keep showing the flipping film all over the internet
4:51
It's crazy. There's absolutely nothing left to spoil. I survive. you mentioned dame maggie smith who we sadly lost last year she how how much was she missed
5:05
during filming well it was it was strange because in the in the second movie her character passed
5:10
away so we'd we'd all said our farewells to maggie and then in the third film you know she's referred
5:15
to you know she and as granny is hovering over us and then she passed away in real life uh a couple
5:21
of months after we finished filming so this film has become sort of de facto a tribute to her
5:26
with great affection. And her portrait is there in the hall looking down on Lady Mary and the rest of us
5:33
So her presence was very much felt and she sorely missed. She was such an iconic character and woman
5:38
Downton Abbey, the grand finale is in cinemas a week on Friday
5:43
Did you nick anything from the set or take anything home? I think nick is too harsh a word
5:47
I think liberate is a fairer term. I did liberate a pair of cricket trousers
5:53
In fact, that very day that you came... It's a memento to remember I was there
5:57
It's a screaming baby. Baby sick down the front. No, because I was playing a bit of village cricket at the time
6:03
or old man's cricket, and these were really lovely gorgeous flannel trousers Not like the modern acrylic ones that you get nowadays So I did liberate them and then until about a month later I got a call from the costume designer saying do you know what happened to those cricket trousers Because we got an exhibition
6:18
coming up at Lourdes and we can't find the cricket trousers so I had to return them
6:24
Oh, boom! With grassed hands on the knees. But no, I did liberate
6:30
one of the wedding pamphlets, I think Lady Mary's And then Donal, the designer, did on the last day give me the telegram
6:38
from announcing the beginning of the First World War, which was rather touching
6:42
So that's in the downstairs loop. Yeah, downstairs loop, fabulous. Any truth in the story
6:47
I heard that you are going to be in the next The Gentleman, the Guy Ritchie series, The Gentleman
6:52
Yes, I'm currently filming that at the moment, yeah, which is a lot of fun with Theo James and Kaya
6:57
They're a completely different character to the one that you've just been doing. Yeah, yes and no
7:02
I can't reveal too much Is he a gangster though, right? I can't possibly reveal
7:08
I can't reveal But it's a lot of fun And I have ridiculously big hair
7:12
Put it that way Hence my mop at the moment Can't wait to cut it off
7:16
One final question What about everyone's favourite bear? What's the Any news on there
7:22
No Well, since Studio Canel Have bought the franchise I've bought the IP
7:25
I'm sure they'll be milking it To Kingdom Come Right There's a musical, isn't there
7:30
There's a musical coming up Yes Yeah, Sonia Friedman's producing a musical which opens next month
7:34
I'm very excited. I'm going to see her run through in a couple of weeks to give my pearls of wisdom
7:38
Amazing. I will probably, like Hugh Grant's dad did apparently when he watched the second movie
7:43
after about a couple of minutes he tapped Hugh on the shoulder and said, is that a real bear? So I'm looking forward to seeing the musical with the same spirit in mind
7:54
I could imagine. Well, look, we wish you the best of luck with everything you've got planned in the future
7:59
As I say, it's in cinemas on the 12th of September for Downton Abbey, the grand finale
8:03
Thank you so much to Hugh Bonneville. Lovely to see you all
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