Watch Dame Maggie Smith talk Harry Potter & Downton at the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival 2017

Smith was born in Ilford, Essex, in 1932 and left school aged 16 to study acting at the Oxford Playhouse.

She went on to have an illustrious and varied career spanning more than 60 years, appearing in films such as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, A Lady in the Van and Gosford Park.

But it was her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall in seven of the eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011 that gave her global recognition.

Smith then landed another career-elevating role as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in ITV’s hit period drama, Downton Abbey, which ran from 2010 to 2015.

Asked in her interview at BFI & Radio Times Television Festival 2017, about this increased recognition, she said: “It’s ridiculous. I led a perfectly normal life until Downton Abby. No I’m not kidding. I mean, I’d go to theatres, I’d go to galleries and things like that on my own, and now I can’t."

She continued: "And that’s, you know, awful. The Fulham Road's dodgy, let alone– It's truly television. I mean I've been working around for a very, very long time before Downton Abbey and you know, life was fine, nobody knew who the hell I was. It has changed – never mind, eh?"

You can watch the interview right here:

Smith also opened up about her lack of interest in watching her performance in Downton Abbey, saying: “I haven’t seen it. It got to a point when it was too late to catch up.”

Asked whether she had seen the odd clip at awards ceremonies, she responded: "Yes, you’re forced to. It’s always weird, of course it’s weird."

Meanwhile, asked to recall the most tormented thing she ever did, Smith remembered a time during the filming of Harry Potter when she was trapped in a trailer in the snow "for about a week with that daft hat on my head".

"And sitting in that trailer day after day and not being used, that doesn’t make you feel that jolly. That was a horrid thing," she continued.

"But there were other people in the trailer also moaning like Miriam Margolyes. You’re not alone when you moan."

• Read Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith and Julian Fellowes talking Harry Potter, the Oscars and playing "mean old bags" from a 2010 issue of Radio Times magazine

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