A Reader’s Feature argues that a Nintendo Switch 2 reveal in October is almost certain, and not just because of recent leaks.

Since last week’s PlayStation 5 State of Play, there’s been an excitement in the air that we haven’t seen in gaming for a long time. We got another glimpse of how things used to be, when companies would just make real video games, tell you about them a year before they came out, and not want you to give up your entire life and bank balance to play them play . Maybe it’s a cop-out or maybe Sony finally saw the point, I don’t know. But it’s not actually them that I’m most excited about at the moment.

I’ve owned PlayStation and Xbox consoles before, but my biggest gaming love will always be Nintendo. No one has provided more entertainment and a greater sense of wonder with their games and hardware than Nintendo. From Zelda: A Link To The Past on the SNES to Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the Switch, they’ve been in the business for so long that it’s literally impossible to top their track record at this point.

The Switch may be its best console yet, which is saying something considering how long Nintendo has been around, and now we’re at the point where the successor is being announced. Assuming that this feature is released over the weekend, based on the rumors so far and the feeling in my gut, it could be as early as this Monday.

Nintendo has said they’ll announce the Switch 2 before April, but I don’t think anyone thinks they’ll wait until March 31st to do so. I would have previously bet on January or February, but this year there has been so much talk about a reveal pointing to early October that I’ve started to believe it.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but the basic design seems to have already been leaked, and Nintendo must know that the longer they wait, the greater the chance of the final version leaking out of the Chinese factories where it’s made wait.

It obviously has to be done months in advance, so at this point there are a lot of people with a limited understanding of NDAs (and how vicious Nintendo lawyers are) who know exactly what the Switch 2 is, and sometime soon they’ll get a picture put it online.

This makes me think there will be a reveal in October. It’s not about not wanting to stop people from buying a Switch for Christmas, it’s about the fact that if they wait until January, poor quality photos of it will be everywhere and because there’s no context or explanation , which people rely on Make all sorts of false assumptions about it – especially regarding its power.

Nintendo needs to announce it now or they will lose the initiative. It’s not like the PS5 Pro, because the specs for it were leaked months before and in the end it’s just a PlayStation 5 with a few lines on it. In comparison, we have no idea what the Switch 2 is or what it does.

The leaks suggest it’s just the updated current Switch, but who knows? Maybe it does more things that we don’t realize. Or maybe the photos are fakes and the Switch 2 actually looks like a sponge with controllers oozing out of it, or whatever. (I personally don’t think it’s a fake as too many reliable sources have said it is real, or at least an early version of what is real.)

So if this comes out on Sunday, consider this: The Switch 2 could be revealed in less than 24 hours. And if not, it probably will be within the next 24 days. I’m excited, not just because I love Nintendo, but because I love games, and there’s been nothing but bad – really depressingly bad – news all year, and now we’re on the cusp of some good news that should cheer everyone up .

From reader Onibee

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CINCINNATI (WXIX) – TQL Stadium has been named one of twelve stadiums that will host matches in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, when the top 32 clubs in the world will play for the title of FIFA Club World Champion.

The 2025 edition of the Club World Championship will take place in the United States and will expand to 32 clubs for the first time.

The tournament begins on Sunday, June 15, 2025 and runs for 29 days before the Club World Cup final on July 13, 2025 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

TQL Stadium and MetLife Stadium will be joined by ten additional venues: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte), Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), GEODIS Park (Nashville), Camping World Stadium (Orlando), Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Lumen Field (Seattle), and Audi Field (Washington, DC).

TQL Stadium, the fourth-year home of FC Cincinnati, hosted seven international games and two concerts and hosted the Orange and Blue’s participation in international competitions including the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Leagues Cup.

“Football is the most popular sport on the planet, and in 2025 a new era for club soccer begins when FIFA hosts the largest, most comprehensive and competitive global club competition here in the United States,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will feature 12 fantastic stadiums where great players from the 32 best clubs in the world will write a new chapter in global football history. This new FIFA competition is the only true example in global club football of true solidarity and inclusivity, allowing the best clubs from Africa, Asia, Central and North America and Oceania to compete against the top performers of Europe and South America in what will be an incredible new World Cup have a huge impact on the growth of club football and talent worldwide.

“This is about opportunity and hope for those who need it most, and also about prestige and real football for those who make our sport shine. My thanks go to everyone. We never discriminate; we include everyone. This is the true spirit of the brand new FIFA Club World Cup.

“It was an honor to make this significant tournament announcement in front of a huge, energetic audience at the Global Citizen Festival here in New York. “The fans of the 32 participating clubs will bring similar excitement to next year’s FIFA Club World Cup when we take it to the world,” concluded the FIFA President. With the draw scheduled for December, only two of the 32 teams are yet to be confirmed: one from South America, the other representing the host country.

Details of the draw, which will split the world’s top 32 clubs into eight exciting groups of four, will be published shortly.

The tournament schedule will be published shortly after the draw.

Fans can register at FIFA.com/tickets for ticket and hospitality information for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a recent news story? Send it to us here with a short description.

Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.

Paul Feig, director of the 2016 all-female reboot Ghostbustersblames Donald Trump in part for the racist and sexist criticism the film received from online trolls.

During a recent interview with The Guardianthe filmmaker looked back on all the hate the action comedy starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones received after its debut.

“The political climate of the time was really strange when Hillary Clinton was running for office in 2016,” he recalled. “There were a lot of guys looking for a fight. When I got harassed on Twitter, I went back and looked up who they were. So many were Trump supporters.”

But it didn’t stop there, because Feig said that Trump, the future US president, had only added fuel to the fire with his rhetoric.

“Then Trump spoke out against us,” he said Jackpot! said the director. “He was like, ‘They’re doing a remake.’ Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. You can’t do that. And now they do it Ghostbusters only with women. “What’s going on?” and was completely upset.”

Feig continued: “Everyone became fucking cannibals. This made the film a political statement, as if to say, ‘If you’re pro-women, you’ll watch this.’ If not, then…’ I didn’t think it even mattered that the main characters were women , but people brought a lot of baggage with them.”

The Simple favor The filmmaker also explained why he chose a Ghostbusters more of a reboot than a sequel to the original 1984 and 1989 films starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts.

“Invoice [Murray] had said publicly that he didn’t want to do it again Ghostbusters at that point,” Feig recalled. “Harold Ramis had died. Dan and Ernie were there, but half the team felt weird. It had been 30 years and Bill and the gang were so iconic; I didn’t want to do anything that would detract from the original films.”

UPDATE: Today, September 26, at approximately 3:15 p.m., Lee County government provided an update on Hurricane Helene.

Emergency Management is urging residents to stay off roads and stay home if possible as Helene’s severe weather continues to impact Southwest Florida this afternoon and evening. If you must drive, avoid standing water, use caution at all intersections in case traffic lights are not working, and monitor local law enforcement social media for road information.

Lee County government will reopen September 27th after a one-day closure due to Helene. For specific office or operational information, as in some cases there may be minor adjustments due to the storm, visit www.leegov.com/departments.

Solid Waste haulers will resume garbage, yard waste and recycling collections on September 27th.

– Regular household pickups will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week. Today’s collections will be picked up on Friday and Friday collections will be picked up on Saturday. Collections will resume as usual on September 30th.

– All waste disposal facilities in Lee County will be open regular hours on September 27th and will have extended hours on September 28th.

The Department of Community Development is asking unincorporated Lee County residents experiencing water intrusion into their homes or those residing in the Special Flood Danger Zone with wind damage to email [email protected] for assistance to obtain approval requirements and resources. Residents can also visit www.leegov.com/dcd/BldPermitServ/disaster-recovery for more information.

The Lee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains activated, and county staff and partners continue to work closely with state and federal partners, including the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, and the National Hurricane Center.

– To view the county’s midday update, visit

– The EOC is fully staffed at Level 2, with almost all positions in Plans and Operations filled. Public safety partners, including fire and law enforcement, are coordinating on any response issues that arise due to the high winds. The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT), Natural Resources and Utilities is preparing emergency crews to respond to impacts once the storm passes.

The EOC works with FPL and LCEC to monitor power issues throughout the community. Residents who use generators should locate generators at least 20 feet from doors and windows and keep exhaust fumes away from homes.

Community members should continue to take steps to stay informed:

– Monitor reputable local media, the National Weather Service-Tampa and the National Hurricane Center.

– Follow Lee County Government and Lee County Public Safety on social media, including Facebook, YouTube, X and LinkedIn.

– Sign in to AlertLee and download the LeePrepares app from Google Play or the App Store.

– Visit www.leegov.com/storm.

…..

ORIGINAL (September 26, 2024):

Today, September 26, at approximately 9:45 a.m., Lee County government provided the following updates related to Hurricane Helene.

The Lee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated and county staff and partners continue to work closely with state and federal partners, including the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.

Residents are invited to tune in to the county’s Facebook Live event with Public Safety Director Ben Abes scheduled for today, September 26, at noon. Go to www.facebook.com/leecountyflbocc. The update will also air on the county’s YouTube channel and LeeTV.

Emergency management is recommending that all residents stay home throughout the day if possible as Helene’s inclement weather will continue to bring heavy rain and strong, gusty winds. Even if the weather clears for a short period of time, the public is urged to stay indoors – especially this afternoon.

Don’t drive if you don’t have to. The massive storm will continue to impact the region even after it passes north of Lee County. Do not drive through standing water. Monitor local law enforcement social media channels and local media outlets for information about flooded roads. Specifically, Fort Myers Beach Fire & Rescue is asking motorists not to drive to Fort Myers Beach at this time. Please note that once the storm subsides, depending on the strength of the wind, drivers should exercise caution at all intersections in case traffic signals are not working.

Lee County not in the truest sense of the word “close” B. Bridges during hurricanes with barricades, cones, gates or signs, as these can easily be blown away, making them ineffective and dangerous. The Lee County Department of Transportation (DOT) strongly advises motorists to stay away from bridges – and the roads leading to them – when sustained winds reach 40 miles per hour. Drivers may encounter police officers near bridges. Follow the instructions provided.

The EOC is fully staffed at Level 2, with almost all positions in Plans and Operations filled. Public safety partners, including fire and law enforcement, are coordinating on any response issues that arise due to the high winds. The DOT, Natural Resources and Utilities are positioning their crews in advance to respond to surges once the storm passes.

The EOC works with FPL and LCEC to monitor power issues throughout the community. Residents who use generators should locate generators at least 20 feet from doors and windows and keep exhaust fumes away from homes.

Residents who have not already done so should sign up for AlertLee, which provides tornado warnings in addition to hurricane-related warnings and watches. Visit www.leegov.com/hurricane/helene and scroll to the bottom of the landing page.

The two Safe Havens that Lee County opened Sept. 25 will remain open for those who do not feel safe in their housing situation and do not have a friend or family member’s home to go to. They remain open as Lee County monitors storm conditions. The locations are:

– North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 North Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers

– Estero Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Boulevard, Estero

As of this morning, 44 people were sheltered at the site in North Fort Myers and 19 in Estero. There are no evacuation orders in place and no hurricane shelters are open.

Lee County offices and all parks, libraries and other facilities are closed. LeeTran’s regular fixed-route bus service is not offered. Collection of household waste, garden waste and recycling is suspended. Do not place trash cans on the side of the road.

Announcements regarding reopening and resumption of normal operations will be made shortly.

Residents who have questions about non-emergency matters can call the emergency information line. United Way activated the hotline earlier this week. Call United Way 211 at 211 or 239-433-3900 with questions about sandbag distribution locations, closures and real-time updates. Call 911 for urgent or life-threatening matters.

The Department of Community Development is asking unincorporated Lee County residents experiencing water intrusion into their homes or those residing in the Special Flood Danger Zone with wind damage to email [email protected] for assistance to obtain approval requirements and resources. Residents can also visit www.leegov.com/dcd/BldPermitServ/disaster-recovery for more information.

Community members should continue to take steps to stay informed:

– Monitor reputable local media, the National Weather Service-Tampa and the National Hurricane Center.

– Follow Lee County Government and Lee County Public Safety on social media, including Facebook, YouTube, X and LinkedIn.

– Sign in to AlertLee and download the LeePrepares app from Google Play or the App Store.

Chimney Rock and Lake Lure in western North Carolina appear to have been devastated by flooding after Hurricane Helene swept through the area. 2022 census data shows 220 people living in Chimney Rock, with about 1,300 living in Lake Lure.

Air rescue operations continued in Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Village on Saturday afternoon as family members desperately searched for details on their loved one’s whereabouts while phone lines were down and internet access was limited.

Rutherford County Emergency Management said crews rescued more than 100 people in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area Saturday and rescue efforts would continue into Saturday night.

Rutherford County Emergency Management provided air rescue resources to transport stranded individuals from the area. After evacuation, people will be transported to RS Central High School where they will receive further assistance.

“Please note that mobile and telephone communications in the region are currently extremely limited. We understand the concern and uncertainty this may cause and respectfully ask for your patience as these rescue efforts will take time,” officials said. “Once we receive the names of those rescued, we will make every effort to reach families and individuals who have inquired about their loved ones. Your understanding and cooperation are greatly appreciated during this challenging time.”

Flooding in Chimney Rock, North Carolina

Social media posts show extensive flooding and damage:

Tim Walz is telling people he’s just as nervous about facing JD Vance as he was the Sunday afternoon in August when he warned Kamala Harris in his running mate interview that he was a bad debater.

Maybe more nervous, according to multiple people who’ve spoken to him.

And the pressure is even higher, when for the first time in modern campaign history, the vice presidential debate Tuesday is likely to be the last marquee event before Election Day. With many voters still saying they don’t know enough about Harris, it could be up to Walz to help convince them to trust a vice president he barely knew himself before she picked him.

Talking to the aides who have coalesced around him in Minnesota and other supporters, Walz constantly comes back to how worried he is about letting Harris down, according to close to a dozen top campaign staffers and others who have been in touch with the governor and his team. He doesn’t want Donald Trump to win. He doesn’t want Harris to think she made the wrong choice.

He feels genuine contempt for and confusion over what he views as Vance’s abandonment of their common roots, and for flipping so many of his positions to fit with Trump. The digs he takes at Vance by saying he didn’t know many Midwesterners who went to Yale are a glimpse into his anxiety that his opponent learned to be a sharp debater there, according to people who know Walz.

And aides insist this isn’t just about setting expectations.

“He’s a strong person,” said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who’s known Walz since they were each first elected to Washington in 2006. “He’s just not a lawyer-debater type. It’s not like he was dreaming of debates when he was in first grade.”

Walz is confident in Harris’ vision. But the governor fears he won’t make his case as well as he needs to, according to people who have been speaking with him.

“How’s debate prep going?” one person at an exclusive high-dollar fundraiser asked Walz as he stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in megadonor Alex Soros’ penthouse living room in Manhattan on Monday.

“As teachers, we are trained to answer the question, and we train our students to answer the questions,” the person recalled Walz saying. “That’s not how this goes.”

Inside Walz’s debate strategy

In long sessions that have gone late into the night and through weekends, Walz and his team have been balancing managing the Minnesota governor’s headspace, watching videos of Vance and holding mock sessions with stand-ins for the moderators, with Pete Buttigieg playing the Ohio senator. (Though the Transportation secretary is not going as method as Harris’ Trump stand-in did and growing out a beard.)

The plan for Tuesday night, several people involved told CNN, will be to largely skip Vance and go right at Trump – but to also squeeze the senator between his attempts to appeal to undecided voters and the always tricky task of satisfying America’s most prominent audience of one.

If they get their way, Trump will be triggered into a storm of anger, jealousy and pique as easily as he was when Harris poked him at their debate. Their goal is for Walz to lean into his likability to hammer Vance over “Project 2025” and for “selling his soul to Donald Trump,” as Walz put it at another New York fundraiser.

People involved say Walz may even try a line that originated when Harris was preparing for a vice presidential debate before Joe Biden dropped out: asking Vance what promises he made to Trump so the former president wouldn’t send an angry mob after him with a gallows, like Mike Pence experienced on January 6.

Walz and his team want commonsense indignation to come across, according to several in the know. Their worry is that Vance is going to eviscerate the governor’s hand-to-his-heart, dad-joke persona and make Walz come across as either a moron or a raging bull, or even an out-of-whack liberal vouching for another out-of-whack liberal.

Making people feel ‘joyful and hopeful’

Traditionally, running mates serve as attack dogs.

For the past six weeks of calibrated campaign appearances, Walz has been more emotional support animal for his party – whether, according to people who’ve been with them, that’s Harris feeling buoyed by his energy and vindicated by voters’ reactions to her pick (she was the one who suggested calling him “Coach” as they got ready for their first joint rally) or the voter who waited half an hour on a rope line last week for a fist bump and walked away squealing to a friend, “That’s all I needed.”

“People assume that he is a walking permission structure for rural, exurban, White male hunters,” said a senior campaign aide. “Yes, for the 1 or 2 points of those we want to move. But it’s much deeper than that: He’s a walking permission structure for people to feel joyful and hopeful themselves.”

That appears to be working: whether it’s the Human Rights Campaign black-tie gala in Washington, where his remarks drew tears from many at the high-priced tables (he changed into his tuxedo in the convention center bathroom after flying in wearing a sweatshirt) or the stuffy gym at the conveniently named Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where people like retired federal government worker Ana Gallardo said they loved Walz even if they couldn’t say why.

Asked to name her favorite thing about the governor she was so thrilled to see, Gallardo paused.

“I really don’t know,” she said. “I’m going to listen closer today.”

What Walz highlights about Harris – and what he is careful not to

With his 12 years in the House and nearly six so far as governor, Walz has more government experience and a deeper record than many men who’ve served as president. But he’s leaned into the feeling of being a guy who just wandered in wide-eyed to find thousands of people cheering for him and his name on the logo.

Jamming this guy into a campaign that Harris had to suddenly take over, with different camps among the staff competing for dominance, has been tricky. While some on the campaign have been eager to milk as many different appearances and fundraisers as they can out of an unexpectedly in-demand running mate, others have questioned why he is not being kept focused on the necessary basics of appealing to White men in what aides on the day he was picked were calling the “Blue Walz” states.

This also plays out in day-to-day engagement: a governor who until six weeks ago was one of the most eagerly accessible Democratic politicians in the country and who essentially manifested himself as the running mate with a few spicy TV appearances has done only a few interviews since being picked, all lower profile. He doesn’t take questions from reporters and rarely comes to chat off the record on his campaign plane. Aides declined requests for even a brief interview with CNN.

As they monitor how Vance has been fencing with reporters in Q&As after his many events, Walz aides know their approach risks Walz getting rusty.

Their hands are tied, multiple people involved acknowledge: The vice president’s staff doesn’t want a contrast that would highlight how few unscripted events Harris has done.

Walz, though, has reminded staffers that he wasn’t the head football coach back in Minnesota. He was the assistant coach and defensive coordinator, and that’s the experience he’s turning to now.

Walz very deliberately – and without being told by Harris or her inner circle – never asks a crowd to elect him vice president. He never talks about what he’d do on the job. He doesn’t even talk about electing “us” or what a Harris-Walz administration would be. He talks about Harris, how important it is to get her into the White House and how excited he is to see what she’ll do on the job.

“The guy is reclaiming old White dude masculinity away from toxicity,” said one person who’s spoken with Walz often since he was picked.

To Adrian Fontes, the Democratic secretary of state in Arizona, that’s the difference between what he calls the “machito” of the Republican ticket and true machismo, in a way that he believes will ripple well beyond the people who look and sound like Walz.

“Tim Walz epitomizes the Latino dad. He loves his family. He loves families generally. He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s warm. …. He’s just there to support, and he takes great pride in the success of others,” Fontes said. “‘Machito’ – it’s less mature. It has sort of to do with the big trucks and the loud music version of the Latino men. And there’s plenty of those guys out there, don’t get me wrong. But we grow out of that pretty quickly.”

Fontes said that distinction is reinforced by “the physical appearance that this is sort of a dad here who’s super proud of his daughter.”

Walz has maintained that relatable demeanor, even as he seems to still be wrapping his head around how much his life has changed – and might even more.

“What’s it been like the past six weeks?” he said at the beginning of his speech in Pennsylvania. “Pretty strange.”

Up on the 36th floor of the InterContinental Hotel in Manhattan in a suite where most of the seats were filled by billionaires and the refreshments were a thick wooden box of macadamia nut cookies and brownies kept under a glass dome, Walz deflected when one of the hosts said how excited she was to have the next vice president with them.

“That still sounds really weird,” he said, shaking his head.

“I know, but we’ve got to keep saying it,” she said.

Behind the scenes and on the stump

Behind the scenes, the man who goofs around through doughnut shops and convenience stores can also be the harder-nosed politician who won a longtime Republican US House seat by hustling around a district that didn’t have its own major media market.

Walz, according to people familiar with the internal discussions, was the one whom Jimmy McCain, the late Sen. John McCain’s son, first reached out to when he wanted to endorse Harris. Walz was the one put on the phone with Joe Manchin when the West Virginia senator was demanding to talk to Harris as a pre-condition for an endorsement. (Manchin has since said he was not endorsing Harris.)

Walz has also, according to people who have been talking with him, been the conduit for former House colleagues and labor leaders, including conversations with firefighters’ union president Ed Kelly that the Harris campaign is optimistic will soon help land an endorsement. Or he’s the one calling digital influencers to thank them for their posts about the campaign.

Walz spent part of a recent weekend replacing the seals on the washers and dryers in the house he’s living in while the governor’s mansion in St. Paul is being remodeled. Inspired to learn as they met a marching band on their August bus tour in Georgia that Harris had played the French horn in high school, Walz has mused to aides that that who they really should be going after is high school band kids and alumni – trust him, he says, that’s the group with the best-organized infrastructure and email lists in a school.

Whatever Walz does, no one on his staff or Harris’ believes he can move the needle much during Tuesday’s debate, especially not with a line or two. More than anything over those 90 minutes in the CBS studio in New York, his aides just want him to keep giving off that feeling of joy and reassurance.

To Tim Ryan, the former Ohio congressman who was lauded for his performance in two 2022 debates against Vance in a Senate race he went on to lose, that’s the advice he relayed to Walz’s team without talking to his old House colleague directly.

“If I was Tim, I wouldn’t be the least bit intimidated by (Vance),” Ryan told CNN. “Just be who you are. Everyone is enjoying seeing you and seeing who you are. Just be that guy.”

This story’s headline has been updated.

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Isabelle Harris of Abbotsford, B.C., won a bronze medal at the European Open Judo competition on Saturday.

The 23-year-old scored an ippon, or full point, against Italy’s Antonietta Palumbo in a women’s 63-kilogram marathon that went more than six minutes into overtime.

Harris was also a bronze medalist at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Her teammate Yanis Hachemi of Repentigny, Que., lost to Niels Thijssen of the Netherlands in his men’s 73-kg bronze medal bout. The Canadian lost his sixth game of the day via ippon in overtime.

During the women’s bronze bout, Harris and Palumbo each received two penalties, and a third on either side would have ended the game.

“Both had good chances to throw the other,” Bouchard said. “Isabelle managed to counter one of them [her opponent’s] attacks and she scored a big ippon. There was a lot at stake in this fight.

“She achieved some great results last year, particularly at the Pan American Games. And it’s important to note that she had to miss almost two months last summer due to injury and only started training again just under a month ago.”

She was a national treasure and won multiple awards. But what was somewhat surprising was that Dame Maggie Smith never loved the limelight.

“I’m never shy on stage, always shy away from it,” she once described herself to critic Nancy Banks Smith.

She never watched herself in Downton Abbey. It is known that she didn’t even show up to accept her first Oscar.

And in a rare interview for the British Film Institute in 2017, she lamented that she was no longer able to walk down the street without being stopped by adoring fans.

Despite being an acclaimed stage actress since the 1960s and having a varied and successful career on the big screen, she insisted she had led a “completely normal life” until her role in Downton Abbey.

The ITV drama, loved by viewers around the world, had elevated her to a new level of superstardom late in her life – and she revealed she regretted what she had lost as a result.

In the drama, which aired between 2010 and 2015, Dame Maggie played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch who excelled at amazing one-liners.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said of the way public recognition changed during that time.

Recalling life before Downton, she said: “I went to the theater and galleries and things like that by myself.” And now I can’t. And that’s terrible.

She added that Fulham Road in south-west London was “dodgy” enough without her being seen walking along it.

That’s not to say she never liked being approached by fans.

Her role as the formidable Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films won her legions of younger fans – something she clearly enjoyed.

“A lot of very little people used to say hello to me and that was nice,” she said during an interview on The Graham Norton Show in 2015.

“It was completely different people,” she said, noting that for her it was as if she had never existed before.

“She loved that kids recognized her from Harry Potter,” added Nick Hytner, the stage and film director who directed Dame Maggie in “The Lady in the Van.” “She liked that.”

“She loved bananagrams.”

For those who have worked with her, given her enormous reputation, it is understandable that they were a bit apprehensive at first.

Lesley Nichol, who starred as Downton Abbey’s chef, said she was “terrible” when she first heard she would be working with Dame Maggie.

“I’ve never worked with anyone of this caliber before,” she told BBC Radio Ulster. “And I thought, I don’t know what to tell her, it’s going to be really difficult, God, she’s probably going to be really great.”

But Nichol said she quickly realized none of it was true.

“She didn’t want anyone to be afraid of her or in awe of her, she just wanted to be part of the gang.”

Nichol said it was always “lovely” spending time with Dame Maggie and said they would spend time playing the word game Bananagrams between takes.

“She was scary at it and really competitive and really good at it,” she said.

“But that’s just how she was, she was in the middle of the audience and just very happy to be part of it all.”

Dame Maggie was known for her sharp tongue on and off screen.

But that didn’t spoil their sense of fun, Hytner told BBC News.

“Everyone knows how funny she was, she had an exceptionally quick, super-intelligent, biting wit,” he said.

“But she was fun to be around, even if you were on the receiving end of her snarky joke, you couldn’t help but laugh.”

“She was so clever, she was also capable of extraordinary sweetness and was a wonderful companion at concerts, ballet and theater.”

“A touch of mischief”

Harry Potter stars also remembered how much fun Dame Maggie had on set.

On Saturday, Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the film series, posted a picture of himself dancing awkwardly with Dame Maggie.

“She was so special, always hilarious and always kind,” he wrote.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have shared a set with her, and especially lucky to have shared a dance.”

Of course it wasn’t all fun and games.

Asked in her BFI interview to reflect on the most excruciating thing she’s ever done, Dame Maggie recalled a time during the filming of Harry Potter when she was stuck in a caravan in the snow for a week, “with that stupid hat on the head”. .

“And sit in that trailer day after day and not be used.” [while waiting for her next scene]That doesn’t make you so happy. “It was a terrible thing,” she said.

“But there were other people in the trailer who were moaning like Miriam Margolyes. You’re not alone if you moan.”

Margolyes, who also appeared on screen with Dame Maggie in Ladies in Lavender, said the actress always had a “touch of mischief”.

“I saw what a kind yet terrifying person she could be,” she said.

“I wouldn’t say I was a friend of hers, I was an acolyte and she allowed me to be one.”

Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout in the wizarding series, recalled a time when she was absent from filming because she had finished her role in the series.

“[Dame Maggie] said: “Nonsense! When I’m in a scene I want you there, so please come back. And she talked to the producer and got me back so I got some more money.

She admitted that she was sometimes afraid of her. “But you can forgive someone for being the best of the best, right, if they have a bit of a temper.”

From the small stage to the big screen, Dame Maggie’s moving performances have always been a showstopper.

But she was also extremely committed. Even later in life, she was known for never showing up on set without having her lines perfectly memorized.

“I never saw her on set with a little script, she knew it before she came here,” Lady Carnarvon, who lives in Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed, told BBC Breakfast.

“She worked so hard to get up every morning … and wear corsets for hours,” she said, adding that she continued to work until the end of her life.

“I think deep down there was a desire to do everything right,” Margoyles said. “But she always did.”

Throughout, she remained famously private.

She rarely gave interviews. And Margolyes notes that Dame Maggie “didn’t like being on chat shows,” even though she was good at them.

When she won her first Oscar in 1970 for her performance in “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” she skipped the awards ceremony.

At that time she was acting in a play in London. Many other actors would have had the understudy take over for the evening, but not Dame Maggie.

She actually appeared to accept her Special Award Bafta in 1993, but her speech only lasted 30 seconds.

“If it is possible to act in films without taking off your clothes or killing people with machine guns. I actually seem to have succeeded,” she said.

It all paints a picture of an actress who found the whole idea of ​​being a star a little embarrassing, even though there’s an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to the number of awards she’s won.

“She was a very private person,” Lady Carnarvon added.

“I always wanted to respect that and not cross any boundaries. And I think she was like that, just like her character on TV.”

But despite Dame Maggie’s determination to stay under the radar whenever possible, she left a lasting impression on everyone she met.

Perhaps her old friend, the late actor Kenneth Williams, said it best in his diary entry about Dame Maggie in December 1962.

“The weather was cold and dreary and the crowd was mediocre [Dame Maggie’s] Finish monotonous and not very exciting. I didn’t say goodbye or anything because I would have cried.

“But this girl has a magic and a comedic flair that makes you really grateful, and she’s capable of a generosity that’s beautiful.”

“She is one of those rare people who suddenly makes things and places wonderful just by her presence. She’s adorable.”