Fans of the British costume television drama 'Downton Abbey' will perhaps be missing actress Maggie Smith, who portrays the character of the disparaging Dowager Countess of Grantham. Recently, in an interview with the Sunday Times, 80-year-old Smith hinted that she may be leaving the show even before it returns for Season 6 later this year on ITV.

Latin Post quotes the actress telling the Sunday Times that it should be time for the Dowager Countess to leave the show. E! News reports that Smith explained the Dowager Countess, who is known for witty retorts and her mockery with Mrs. Crawley, is becoming very old and it may well be time for her passing.

Smith told the British paper, "They say this is the last one, and I can't see how it could go on," adding, "I mean, I certainly can't keep going. To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now. We're into the late 1920s."

The Dowager Countess is certainly not that old, but, going by the fact that she deubted in the 1860s, she could possibly be pushing 90 when 'Downton Abbey' Season 6 premieres. While the period in which Season 6 of the show will be set is yet to be known, it is expected that the upcoming season may have the Great Depression in the backdrop, as this will put the family into yet another economic upheaval.

Nevertheless, with the Dowager Countess growing older and her potential love story with Prince Kuragin coming to an end, it may well be time for Smith's character to go.

Meanwhile, show creator and writer Julian Fellowes told The New York Times that though he has already started working on a new NBC series, he does not know when 'Downton Abbey' will end.

He went on to explain, "It's not really my decision. I don't own 'Downton Abbey' now. NBC Universal [which owns Carnival Films] owns 'Downton Abbey.' So I could walk away, but I wouldn't walk away." Fellowes added, "It's too much my baby. It won't go on forever - I'm not a believer in that. But I can't immediately now tell you where the end will be."