Set in a large townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in Belgravia in central London, the series depicts the servants—"downstairs"—and their masters, the family—"upstairs"—between the years 1903 and 1930, and shows the slow decline of the British aristocracy.
The show may be regarded as a documentary of the social and technological changes that occurred during those 27 years, including the Edwardian period, women's suffrage, the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, and the Wall Street crash.
Upstairs, Downstairs was originally an idea by two actress friends, Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, for a comedy titled Behind the Green Baize Door.
[1] Despite having a champion in Stella Richman, the show suffered from internal politics at the station, most notably from the sales department who could not see the attraction of a period drama, and the programme's videotapes spent nearly a year in storage awaiting a transmission date.
The stories depict the lives of the wealthy Bellamy family ("upstairs"), who reside at 165 Eaton Place in London's fashionable Belgravia, and their servants ("downstairs").
The original servants were the authoritarian butler Mr Angus Hudson, cook Mrs Kate Bridges, pragmatic head house parlourmaid Rose Buck, sweet Irish kitchen maid Emily, eccentric footman Alfred, mischievous under-house parlourmaid Sarah, coachman Pearce, and Lady Marjorie's lady's maid Maude Roberts.
In 1903, Sarah Moffat applies to be under-house-parlour maid for the Bellamy family, pretending to be of French parentage but soon revealed to be illiterate, English, and with no work history.
Elizabeth soon falls in love with German Baron Klaus von Rimmer, unaware that he is gay and that he is using her in a scheme to obtain naval secrets from her father.
The baby is returned to its parents by Richard and Lady Marjorie, and Mrs Bridges only escapes a jail sentence after Hudson agrees to marry her once they are no longer in service.
Somewhat indifferent to his new responsibilities as a householder, Lawrence also avoids marital relations with Elizabeth, claiming he prefers her to be pure and muse-like, leaving their marriage unconsummated.
Lady Marjorie, her brother, Hugo Talbot-Carey (the Earl of Southwold), and his new wife (widow Marion Worsley) all perish in the RMS Titanic disaster.
Richard's new secretary, Hazel Forrest, gently persuades Miss Roberts to open the box, with her accepting Lady Marjorie is gone; she breaks down into sobs saying she tried to save her.
Hazel, unknowingly echoing her late mother-in-law Lady Marjorie, has a brief affair with an RFC Lieutenant named Jack Dyson who, like herself, has risen from the ranks of the middle classes.
At the end of the fourth series Meg Wynn Owen left the show, with her character Hazel dying of influenza in the Spanish flu pandemic.
The character of Virginia Hamilton, played by Hannah Gordon, was introduced in the fourth series when she asked Richard for help in relation to her son.
In addition, eight new cast members were added to the series, which included two servants, Frederick and Lily, played by Gareth Hunt and Karen Dotrice; Richard Bellamy's new wife, Virginia (played by Hannah Gordon); Virginia's two children Alice and William (Anne Yarker and Jonathan Seely); Shirley Cain as Miss Treadwell, the children's governess; Madeleine Cannon as Lady Dorothy (Dolly) Hale, Georgina's self-centred, catty, fair weather friend; and Anthony Andrews as Lord (Robert) Stockbridge, Georgina's fiancé and husband.
Downstairs, Edward and a pregnant Daisy have left Eaton Place and are replaced by Frederick (James's batman during the war) and Lily, respectively.
Edward's job prospects are dim, and Daisy miscarries due to malnutrition; both are re-hired at Eaton Place as chauffeur and house parlourmaid, respectively.
While Lord and Lady Bellamy are away, Miss Treadwell quickly assumes the role as head of the house alienating the servants and mentally and physically abuses Alice and her dog.
Mr Hudson and Mrs Bridges also finally marry, and take the uneducated but surprisingly shrewd kitchen maid, Ruby Finch, to the seaside with them, to run a guest house.
Young Edward and his wife, Daisy, are elevated to the posts of butler and head house parlourmaid in the country household of the marquess and new marchioness of Stockbridge.
On hearing James reassuring her about Gregory's honourable death in the war echoing in her ears, she becomes spooked and hurriedly leaves through the front door.
[6] Alfred Shaughnessy, script editor and frequent writer, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award twice for the episodes "Miss Forrest" and "Another Year".
These included having the new Lord and Lady Stockbridge buying back 165 Eaton Place and an American company wanted to make a programme based around Hudson and Rose immigrating to the United States.
Jack Webb was interested in a series of Marsh and Gordon Jackson reprising their roles as head of a Los Angeles employment agency.
[9] In 2011, the BBC ran a series titled Royal Upstairs Downstairs in which Tim Wonnacott and Rosemary Shrager tour country houses visited by Queen Victoria.
Company Pictures' 2008 television series The Palace has been described as a "modern Upstairs, Downstairs" as it features the points of view of both a fictional royal family and their servants.
[14] In November 2010, with the composer Alexander Faris's blessing, a special CD of collected versions was released to raise money for the charity Children in Need.
[18] In 2009, the BBC announced it was to broadcast a revival of the series, with Jean Marsh reprising her role as Rose alongside a new cast in the same Eaton Place household.
In 2011, Acorn Media released Upstairs Downstairs: The Ultimate Collection, which includes Thomas and Sarah and 25 hours of special features in a 40th anniversary, 26-disc set.