Maggie Smith plans to leave "Downton Abbey" after next season

Maggie Smith says she won't be returning to "Downton Abbey" after next season.

The period drama is rumored to be ending next year with season 6. But Smith -- who plays the witty and formidable Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham -- is planning to hang up her character's hat and cane either way.

"They say this is the last one, and I can't see how it could go on," the 80-year-old actress said in an interview with the U.K.'s Sunday Times, adding, "I mean, I certainly can't keep going... To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now. We're into the late 1920s."

"Downton Abbey" has been renewed for a sixth season, but its future beyond that isn't confirmed. Series co-creator Julian Fellowes is due to begin work this year on a new project for NBC called "The Gilded Age," set in New York City, furthering speculation about the future of the hit series.

Smith spoke about her "Downton" role (which has earned her two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe) in 2013 in an interview for "60 Minutes," admitting at that time that she hadn't ever sat down to watch the show.

"I will look at it when it's all over, maybe," she told Steve Kroft. "Because it's frustrating. I always see things that I would like to do differently and think, 'Oh, why in the name of God did I do that?'"

"Downton Abbey" finished airing its fifth season in the U.S. Sunday night on PBS. British viewers saw that season finale at the end of last year.