It would take either a fool, or a very clever woman, to be foolhardy enough to take on the Dowager Countess of Grantham who has the sharpest tongue and quickest wit in Downtown Abbey.  With the movie about to hit movie theaters, Focus Features have released this teaser clip where  newcomer Lady Maud Bagshaw  (Oscar Nominee Imelda Staunton) seems determined to revive an old feud with the Dowager (the sublime Maggie Smith).

The two women have a very frosty exchange during which Lady Maud says “I think Lady Merton is right, we’ll have it out once and for all but now I must go to Her Majesty.”

We have no idea what’s behind this very marked comment BUT we can safely bet that no lady, even another aristocrat, could ever get the better of the Dowager Countess .  We so cannot wait to see how this pans out.  

The movie from Focus Features  written by Oscar winner Julian Fellowes and directed by openly gay Michael Engler opens in the US and UK in September 2019