AceShowbiz -

Maggie Smith's comment that seemed to hint at her departure from "Downton Abbey" is clarified. A representative for the series claims the actress was just joking. She "has always been on the record as saying she'll be with the show for as long as the show runs," the rep said as quoted by the Associated Press.

80-year-old Smith plays Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, on the British period drama. The role has won her numerous prestigious prizes including a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild awards, and two consecutive Emmy trophies.

"They say this is the last one, and I can't see how it could go on," Smith previously told the Sunday Times, adding that her days on the show were numbered. "I mean, I certainly can't keep going ... To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now."

Series creator Julian Fellowes himself remained coy when asked about the future of the show. He said to New York Times, "I don't own 'Downton Abbey' now. NBC Universal [which owns Carnival Films] owns 'Downton Abbey'. So I could walk away, but I wouldn't walk away. It's too much my baby. It won't go on forever - I'm not a believer in that. But I can't immediately now tell you where the end will be."

Fellowes is attached to write a U.S. period drama titled "The Gilded Age" next year.