I first became aware of Maggie in 1964, when I was 15 years old, and my mother had taken me to see Othello with Laurence Olivier, in a desperate attempt to inject some culture into me.

The star of screen and stage, who died in hospital on Friday aged 89, portrayed Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in the hit ITV drama.

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has said that working with Maggie Smith was the 'greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her'