'Downton Abbey' stars react to the major death in 'A New Era': 'It was the right time'

• Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Downton Abbey: A New Era."
• Hugh Bonneville and Jim Carter told Insider it was time for a major character to die.

"Downton Abbey" finally said goodbye to its most beloved character, Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, who died in the closing moments of the latest movie, "A New Era."

Maggie Smith's "Downton" matriarch succumbed to the illness she first revealed at the end of 2019's "Downton Abbey" movie, but for fans of the movies and the original TV show, it is a tough loss nonetheless.

But "Downton" stars including Hugh Bonneville, who plays Violet's son, Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham, told Insider that the time was ripe for the famously quick-witted nonagenarian to die.

"It's a new era. It's certainly the end of an old era. It's right, though, isn't it?" Jim Carter, who plays Mr. Carson, told Insider at a recent press junket to mark the home entertainment release of the sequel.

Raquel Cassidy, who plays lady's maid Baxter, added: "It was the right time. She can't go on and on and on and on. I think Maggie feels that way too."

"It's huge, and it's honored in the film how huge it is for everyone. It's similar to when the queen goes. It is going to affect the country and the wider world. And in our country, our world, Downton is massively affected by it," Cassidy continued.

Bonneville said Violet's final scene, in which she dies peacefully surrounded by her loved ones, was "filmed in a respectful, delicate manner."

The actor also told Insider that he had numerous occasions to say farewell to costar Smith while filming "A New Era."

"We had several goodbyes. We marked the end of shooting in the dining room, which was a behemoth of a set to film in and we had worked in it for months on end if you put all the scenes together," Bonneville said. "So that was a significant day, her last dining room scene. And then her actual farewell."

"Her actual last day on the film was another farewell. It was a tiny little scene I wasn't involved in. It gave me time during the departure scene to reflect that I'd worked with her on and off for 12 years. She'd been my mum and it was quite a privilege."

"Downton" writer Julian Fellowes previously told USA Today that it was inconceivable to keep Violet around much longer, as the character was now well into her 90s when "A New Era" takes place. The film begins in 1928.

"Assuming Violet was 77 at the beginning [of the TV series], she's now in her 90s. And I think that's enough, really," Fellowes said.

"Downton Abbey: A New Era" is available now on digital and Peacock, and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 5.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures provided Insider travel and accommodation for the "Downton Abbey: A New Era" press junket.