List of Upstairs, Downstairs episodes

For the episodes of the 2010 BBC revival, see List of Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series) episodes.

Upstairs, Downstairs is a British television drama series created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, and developed by Alfred Shaughnessy for London Weekend Television. The series consists of 68 hour-long episodes that aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 1971 to 1975, in Ireland on RTÉ from 1972 to 1976 and in the United States as part of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS from 1974 to 1977.[1] It was eventually broadcast in over 70 countries to an audience of over one billion viewers.[2]

The series is set during the period 1903–1930 and takes place largely in the London town house of the Bellamy family. The "upstairs" and "downstairs" of the title refers to, respectively, the Bellamys and their servants. The first season introduced David Langton as Richard Bellamy, Rachel Gurney as his wife, Marjorie, Nicola Pagett as their daughter, Elizabeth, and Simon Williams as their son, James. The household servants were Gordon Jackson as Angus Hudson (the butler), Angela Baddeley as Mrs Bridges (the cook), Jean Marsh as Rose Buck (the head maid), Pauline Collins as Sarah Moffat (maid), Patsy Smart as Maude Roberts (Lady Marjorie Bellamy's personal maid), Christopher Beeny as Edward (first servant), and George Innes as Alfred (the footman).[1] In the second series Jenny Tomasin was introduced as Ruby (a kitchen/scullery maid) and George Innes was replaced by John Alderton as Thomas Watkins.[3] Alderton and Pauline Collins later played their characters in a spin-off series, Thomas and Sarah.[4]

Rachel Gurney and Nicola Pagett both left the show after the second series. The third series introduced Meg Wynn Owen as Hazel Forrest, Lesley-Anne Down as Georgina Worsley (Richard Bellamy's "niece" – the stepdaughter of Lady Marjorie's late brother Hugo), and Jacqueline Tong as Daisy Peel (another maid).[5] Owen was dropped from the cast after the fourth series and replaced in the fifth by Hannah Gordon as Virginia Hamilton, who becomes Richard Bellamy's second wife. Anthony Andrews also became a regular in the fifth series in the role of Lord Robert Stockbridge, as did Karen Dotrice as Lily Hawkins, another maid in the Bellamy household.[6]

During its run Upstairs, Downstairs won two BAFTA Awards, seven Emmys, and a Peabody and Golden Globe Award.[7][8][9][10][11] The complete series has been released on DVD in regions one, two, and four.[12]

  1. ^ a b Phillips, S. (2010). "Season One". Upstairs, Downstairs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  2. ^ Phillips, S. (2010). "Introduction". Upstairs, Downstairs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  3. ^ Phillips, S. (2010). "Season Two". Upstairs, Downstairs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  4. ^ Phillips, S. (2010). "Thomas & Sarah". Upstairs, Downstairs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  5. ^ Phillips, S. (2010). "Season Three". Upstairs, Downstairs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  6. ^ Phillips, S. (2010). "Season Five". Upstairs, Downstairs. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  7. ^ "BAFTA Awards – Upstairs Downstairs". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010. (Page 1)
  8. ^ "BAFTA Awards – Upstairs Downstairs". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010. (Page 2)
  9. ^ "Emmy Awards – Upstairs Downstairs". Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Peabody Winners" (PDF). Peabody Awards. 2010. p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Award search – Upstairs, Downstairs". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  12. ^ Phillips, S. (2010). "Upstairs, Downstairs availability". Upstairs, Downstairs. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010.