Shirley MacLaine is joining the cast of cooing and corset soapie “Downton Abbey”, reports News.com.au.

How did the star of such greats as “Terms of Endearment” and “The Turning Point” get roped into doing a series? If I have to guess it’d be the executive producer, Gareth Neame, that twisted her arm. MacLaine has a past working relationship with the Neame family, specifically Ronald Neame, who directed her in the ’60s classic “Gambit”.

MacLaine will play Lady Grantham, the American mama of Elizabeth McGovern’s character on the series.