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The international success of Upstairs, Downstairs not only brought huge
audiences and revenue to ailing broadcaster London Weekend Television but also
raised its profile by providing the company with the kind of prestige and
critical acclaim it could never reach with its other hits like On the Buses
(1969-73).
Created by actresses Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh (the latter played house
parlour-maid Rose), the series revolved around the London home of the Bellamy
family at 165 Eaton Place in Belgravia. The simple but ingenious premise saw its
stories develop along parallel lines in the overlapping worlds of the
aristocrats and their servants. Richard and Lady Bellamy rule the house from
'upstairs' along with their children James and Elizabeth, while 'Downstairs' is
run by the butler Mr Hudson and Mrs Bridges the cook (who eventually marry in
the final episode); they oversee many changes of staff over the years, with only
Rose and chauffeur Edward remaining for the entire run. Many of the characters
leave in spectacular fashion: footman Alfred is caught in flagrante with a
German Baron and later executed for murder, Lady Marjorie perishes on the
Titanic and simple-minded servant Emily hangs herself after an unhappy love
affair.
The scripts cleverly dovetail the plots so that the lives of the upper and
lower classes mix and clash, sometimes passionately (as in the affair between
lively but troublesome maid Sarah and James Bellamy), but more often in
parallel, so as to explore the symbiotic intertwining of the two worlds and
their growing mutual dependence. In a neat bit of symmetry, the first episode
sees Sarah being turned away from the front door and told to enter by the
servant's entrance, while the series concludes with Rose leaving the now empty
house by the main entrance.
The first series was set between 1903 and 1909, but the tempo was reduced
once the show became a hit, so that it had only reached the end of the First
World War by the end of its fourth year, picking up the pace again for the final
season, which concluded in 1930.
The influence of Upstairs, Downstairs was enormous and can be seen even in
such recent films as Gosford Park (UK/US, d. Robert Altman, 2001), co-starring
Eileen Atkins. It also led to Thomas and Sarah (ITV, 1979), a glum and belated
spin-off with Pauline Collins and John Alderton reprising their original
roles.
Sergio Angelini
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1. On approval (4:03)
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