Downton Abbey star Michael Fox has recalled a set accident that took place while filming scenes with the late Dame Maggie Smith.
Fox is best known for playing Andy Parker in the ITV series, footman to Dowager Countess Violet Crawley (Smith). He joined in season five and also appeared in the sixth and final series, in addition to the Downton Abbey movies, including the forthcoming third film.
Appearing on The One Show today, Fox shared a funny anecdote when filming with Smith, who passed away in September last year.
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"Working with Maggie was an extraordinary thing, I was a young actor coming in and I was a bit of a bag of nerves," he said. "And, yeah, there was one moment on set where I basically nearly pulled her over completely.
"Because I put a cloak on her, and they said, 'Okay can we go again' and I said yes and pulled the cloak and she nearly fully went over."
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As if that wasn't enough, Fox revealed he then accidentally trapped her fingers in a prop.
Related: Hugh Bonneville thinks Downton Abbey 3 is the best movie yet
"She said, 'Okay, can we sort out this business with the purse?', so I said, 'Yes, absolutely Maggie' and then I closed her fingers into the purse."
The actor admits he "never fully got over" the incident but was pleased she took it in her stride.
Commenting on her death last year, Fox added: "It was really amazing to read all the tributes that came out about her and I feel very, very proud to have worked with her."
Fans bid goodbye to Smith's character in the second and most recent film Downton Abbey: A New Era, with the Dowager passing away at the end of the film.
Related: Downton Abbey 3 will have "meaningful" Maggie Smith tribute
According to the film's executive producer Gareth Neame, the third film was always set to pay tribute to her but now feels even more poignant following the actor's death.
"The loss of the Dowager, it now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch," he told TVLine. "But I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful."
Downton Abbey 3 will arrive on screens in September this year, seeing Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery return to reprise their roles alongside Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Penelope Wilton and Lesley Nicol.
The third Downton Abbey movie is due to be released on September 12.
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Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
