Shirley MacLaine Cast on Downton Abbey Season 3 As...

Shirley MacLaine is headed overseas.

The veteran actress will join the cast of Downton Abbey next season, according to The Daily Beast, coming on board the BBC hit as the mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern).

With a trio of season two episodes yet to air in America - did you watch last night's heartbreaker? - producer on season three gets underway in a few weeks.

Said executive producer Gareth Neame in a statement: “My late grandfather directed Shirley MacLaine in Gambit in 1966, so it is a delight for me that she will be joining us on Downton Abbey.”