In an interview on ITV's Loose Women (1999), Whoopi Goldberg made a public plea to Maggie Smith that the role of Mother Superior was being held just for her and could not be played by anyone else. Whoopi expressed her willingness to accommodate Maggie by moving production to the United Kingdom if necessary to make things easier for her. However, Maggie passed away in September 2024, at the age of 89.
