Upstairs Downstairs

Upstairs Downstairs was an LWT serial drama devised by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins which detailed the lives of the inhabitants of 165 Eaton Place, London, during the early years of the 20th Century, and served as the main inspiration for You Rang M'Lord.

=Original Version= 

The series follows the lives of both the family and the servants in the London townhouse at 165 Eaton Place. Richard Bellamy, the head of the household, is a member of Parliament, and his wife a member of the titled aristocracy. Belowstairs, Hudson, the Scottish butler directs and guides the other servants about their tasks and (sometimes) their proper place. Real-life events from 1903-1930 are incorporated into the stories of the Bellamy household. Written by Kathy Li

Trivia
Some episodes from the first season are in black and white due to a union action by some of the technical staff in a dispute over pay.

Rachel Gurney loathed her character (Lady Marjorie) and was written out of the series at her own request. This was achieved by having her make a journey to Canada on the ill-fated maiden voyage of Titanic.

According to the captions in the opening credits of each episode, the various seasons of this series were set in the following years: 1. November 1903 to June 1908 2. 1908 to 1909 3. 1912 to 1914 4. 1914 to 1918 5. 1919 to 1930

The line drawings in the opening title sequence were taken from Edwardian editions of the British satirical magazine Punch.

The title music, "The Edwardians", was specially composed for the series by Alexander Faris. Two different themes were used: a slower waltz-time theme, normally over the opening titles, and a faster jaunty polka theme over some of the end-credits, though the waltz theme was used for the end-credits of episodes that ended on a sombre note such as the news about the sinking of the Titanic. The polka theme was set to lyrics by Alfred Shaughnessy and sung as a bawdy song "What are we going to do with Uncle Arthur?" during a music hall act by Sarah (Pauline Collins) in the episode Upstairs, Downstairs: For Love of Love.

When Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins came up with the original idea for Upstairs Downstairs, they envisaged it as a comedy called Behind the Green Baize Door.

A LWT executive viewing the first season for the first time thought the show was a complete disaster and had no hope in the ratings. Consequently it was left on the shelf for several months and finally got its first ever screening after 10pm on a Sunday night in the UK.

The fictitious address of the Bellamys' house is 165 Eaton Place. Filming took place in Eaton Place, though at number 65.

A script for a proposed but ultimately unmade film adaptation is known to survive, dating from 1973/4.

David Langton (Richard Bellamy), Gordon Jackson (Hudson), Angela Baddeley (Mrs Bridges) and Jean Marsh (Rose Buck) are the only actors to appear in both the first and last episodes of the series.

David Langton (Richard Bellamy), Simon Williams (James Bellamy), Gordon Jackson (Hudson), Angela Baddeley (Mrs Bridges), Jean Marsh (Rose Buck), Christopher Beeny (Edward Barnes), Joan Benham (Lady Prudence Fairfax) and Raymond Huntley (Sir Geoffrey Dillon) are the only actors to appear in all five series.

Jacqueline Tong (Daisy Peel Barnes) appeared in all thirteen episodes of the fourth season, making her the only regular cast member to appear in every episode of any season.

Gordon Jackson (Hudson) appeared in 60 of the series' 68 episodes, more than any other actor. In second place is David Langton (Richard Bellamy), who appeared in a total of 56 episodes. The only other actors to appear in 50 or more episodes were Jean Marsh (Rose Buck) and Angela Baddeley (Mrs Bridges), who appeared in 54 and 52 episodes respectively.

Coincidentally, Jean Marsh (Rose Buck), Simon Williams (James Bellamy) and Jenny Tomasin (Ruby Finch) all made guest appearances in Doctor Who in serials featuring the Daleks.

Jean Marsh is the sister of Yvonne Marsh who plays Madge Cartwright in You Rang M'Lord?

=Sequel=  In 1936, Sir Hallam Holland and his pretty young wife Lady Agnes return from a diplomatic posting abroad and take up residence at 165 Eaton Place, formerly the home of the Bellamy family but vacant for several years. By chance, they ask Rose Buck, herself a long-time servant in the Bellamy household, to find them a suitable staff. In the end, Rose herself joins them as the Housekeeper. The 1930s are a difficult time in England. The Depression has taken its toll with high levels of unemployment. Fascism, which has become popular on the Continent in Italy and Germany, is also finding followers in the UK with Oswald Mosely's British Union of Fascists. As the new staff begin their daily work, the downstairs family begins to take shape. Written by garykmcd

Trivia
Bird motifs are used throughout the 2010 series in the costumes, paintings decorating the sets, and on china and wallpaper patterns, to echo the bird theme employed in the three episode titles: "The Fledgling", "The Ladybird" and "The Cuckoo".

In August 2011, it was announced that Eileen Atkins (Lady Maud Holland) had decided not to appear in the next series because she was unhappy with the direction the new scripts were taking.

Unlike the real Eaton Place, the street in Leamington Spa where the Eaton Place exteriors are filmed has houses on one side of the street only (there is a small park on the facing side). For this reason, most shots have to be carefully framed to show one side of the street only. The occasional wide establishing shot is blended in post production with a reverse angle shot of the same row of houses so that the street appears to have houses on both sides.