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Remembering Maggie Smith: ‘Every day she and Judi would swim in their Victorian swimsuits and every day we would all laugh and laugh’

The writer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel remembers working with an actor impossible to separate from her withering but warm screen persona

But for those of us lucky enough to find her approval, her friendship was passionate, her wisdom unmatched, her loyalty fierce as the sun. There’s simply no greater thrill for a writer than knowing that the Great Dame is going to be saying your words, dignifying your material, timing the gags incomparably, and finding truth, wit and pain in every line. And then knowing she’d say no, but wanting to make her laugh, I also offered her the part of an all-singing all-dancing teacher in the Mamma Mia!

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