Downton Abbey producer Rebecca Eaton has revealed that Dame Maggie Smith can be "a handful" on set.
The veteran actress plays The Right Honourable Violet Crawley, Countess of Grantham in the ITV1 drama, and Eaton explained that she can just be just as fearsome as her character.
"Maggie Smith is a handful, it's true," she said at a recent US screening. "She's very difficult. She knows her worth, and she's tricky on the set, but she delivers when the time comes."
Eaton added that she agreed to join the series when she heard about Smith's casting.
"I heard that Maggie Smith had been cast to be in it and I thought, 'We have to do it'. Because she, like Judi Dench, like Eileen Atkins - there are a few British actors, if they're in, I want it because I just think they're going to be good."
Smith and Dan Stevens have reportedly caused "panic" for Downton Abbey producers by not signing up for a new series.
Eaton recently revealed that a major character will die in the period drama's third series.
Downton Abbey is expected to air its third run in September on ITV1.
