--- description: To film a special charity episode of Downton Abbey title: George Clooney Hung Out With Lord Grantham at Downton Abbey image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # George Clooney Hung Out With Lord Grantham at Downton Abbey  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 1, 2014 3:16 PM CUT  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 1, 2014 3:16 PM CUT Sorry, Lady Mary– George Clooney isn’t going to be your latest suitor. But he did visit the set of _Downton Abbey_ to film a [charity sketch](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11265675/George-Clooney-pictured-on-Downton-Abbey-set.html "undefined") (and make the Dowager Countess faint). Clooney was visiting the set to film a spin-off sketch for ITV’s annual Text Santa charity drive. In the charity episode, Clooney reportedly kisses Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess, and she falls into a swoon. “George plants a kiss and Maggie ends up on the floor, it’s wonderful. He was hilarious,” actress Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith, told [The Telegraph. ](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/11106464/Dame-Maggie-Smith-faints-after-Downton-kiss-with-George-Clooney.html "undefined") When asked whether George Clooney could have a regular role on the show, creator Julian Fellowes seemed ready to swoon as well. “As far as I’m concerned, he can have whatever he likes,” Fellowes said. “He can take over from Maggie (Smith) if he likes.” \[[_The Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/11106464/Dame-Maggie-Smith-faints-after-Downton-kiss-with-George-Clooney.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3611605/george-clooney-lord-grantham-downton-abbey/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3611605/george-clooney-lord-grantham-downton-abbey/"},"headline":"George Clooney Hung Out With Lord Grantham at Downton Abbey","datePublished":"2014-12-01T15:16:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:28:03.805Z","description":"To film a special charity episode of Downton Abbey","url":"https://time.com/3611605/george-clooney-lord-grantham-downton-abbey/","keywords":["Television","downton abbey","celebrities","Charity","George Clooney"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3611605/george-clooney-lord-grantham-downton-abbey/","name":"George Clooney Hung Out With Lord Grantham at Downton Abbey"}}]}] ```