What was the surname of the butler played by Gordon Jackson in Upstairs Downstairs?
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Butler.txt Gordon_Jackson_(actor).txt Upstairs,_Downstairs_(1971_TV_series).txt
Butler Gordon Jackson (actor) Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its appearance.  A butler is usually male,  and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman, and in charge of female servants.  Traditionally, male servants (such as footmen) were rarer and therefore better paid and of higher status than female servants.  The butler, as the senior male servant, has the highest servant status. He can also be sometimes used as a chauffeur.

In older houses where the butler is the most senior worker, titles such as majordomo, butler administrator, house manager, manservant, staff manager, chief of staff, staff captain, estate manager and head of household staff are sometimes given. The precise duties of the employee will vary to some extent in line with the title given, but perhaps, more importantly in line with the requirements of the individual employer. In the grandest homes or when the employer owns more than one residence, there is sometimes an estate manager of higher rank than the butler.

Background

The word "butler" comes from Anglo-Norman buteler, variant form of Old Norman *butelier, corresponding to Old French botellier "officer in charge of the king's wine bottles", derived of boteille "bottle", Modern French bouteille, itself from Gallo-Romance BUTICULA "bottle". The role of the butler, for centuries, has been that of the chief steward of a household, the attendant entrusted with the care and serving of wine and other bottled beverages which in ancient times might have represented a considerable portion of the household's assets.

In Britain, the butler was originally a middle-ranking member of the staff of a grand household. In the 17th and 18th centuries,  the butler gradually became the senior, usually male, member of a household's staff in the very grandest households. However, there was sometimes a steward who ran the outside estate and financial affairs, rather than just the household, and who was senior to the butler in social status into the 19th century. Butlers used always to be attired in a special uniform, distinct from the livery of junior servants, but today a butler is more likely to wear a business suit or business casual clothing and appear in uniform only on special occasions.

A silverman or silver butler has expertise and professional knowledge of the management, secure storage, use and cleaning of all silverware, associated tableware and other paraphernalia for use at military and other special functions. See also Silver (household).

To Butler (verb):  To butler, to dispense wines or liquors; to act as a butler.  (simple past and past participle butlered)

Origin and history

The modern role of the butler has evolved from earlier roles that were generally concerned with the care and serving of alcoholic beverages.

Ancient through medieval eras

From ancient through medieval times, alcoholic beverages were chiefly stored first in earthenware vessels, then later in wooden barrels, rather than in glass bottles; these containers would have been an important part of a household's possessions.  The care of these assets was therefore generally reserved for trusted slaves, although the job could also go to free persons because of heredity-based class lines or the inheritance of trades.

The biblical book of Genesis contains a reference to a role precursive to modern butlers.  The early Hebrew Joseph interpreted a dream of Pharaoh's שקה (shaqah) (literally "to give to drink"), which is most often translated into English as "chief butler" or "chief cup-bearer". 

In ancient Greece and Rome, it was nearly always slaves who were charged with the care and service of wine, while during the Medieval Era the pincerna, usually a serf, filled the role within the noble court. The English word "butler" itself comes from the Middle English word bo(u)teler (and several other forms), from Anglo-Norman buteler, itself from Old Norman butelier, corresponding to Old French botellier ("bottle bearer"), Modern French bouteiller, and before that from Medieval Latin butticula. The modern English "butler" thus relates both to bottles and casks.

Eventually the European butler emerged as a middle-ranking member of the servants of a great house, in charge of the buttery (originally a storeroom for "butts" of liquor, although the term later came to mean a general storeroom or pantry).   While this is so for household butlers, those with the same title but in service to the Crown enjoyed a position of administrative power and were only minimally involved with various stores.

Elizabethan through Victorian eras

The Steward of the Elizabethan era was more akin to the butler that later emerged.  Gradually, throughout the 19th century and particularly the Victorian era, as the number of butlers and other domestic servants greatly increased in various countries, the butler became a senior male servant of a household's staff. By this time he was in charge of the more modern wine cellar, the "buttery" or pantry (from French pan from Latin panis, bread) as it came to be called, which supplied bread, butter, cheese, and other basic provisions, and the ewery, which contained napkins and basins for washing and shaving.  In the very grandest households there was sometimes an Estate Steward or other senior steward who oversaw the butler and his duties.  Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, a manual published in Britain in 1861, reported:	 

The number of the male domestics in a family varies according to the wealth and position of the master, from the owner of the ducal mansion, with a retinue of attendants, at the head of which is the chamberlain and house-steward, to the occupier of the humbler house, where a single footman, or even the odd man-of-all-work, is the only male retainer. The majority of gentlemen's establishments probably comprise a servant out of livery, or butler, a footman, and coachman, or coachman and groom, where the horses exceed two or three. 

Butlers were head of a strict service hierarchy and therein held a position of power and respect.  They were more managerial than "hands on"—more so than serving, they officiated in service.  For example, although the butler was at the door to greet and announce the arrival of a formal guest, the door was actually opened by a footman, who would receive the guest's hat and coat. Even though the butler helped his employer into his coat, this had been handed to him by a footman.  However, even the highest-ranking butler would "pitch in" when necessary, such as during a staff shortage, to ensure that the household ran smoothly, although some evidence suggests this was so even during normal times. 

The household itself was generally divided into areas of responsibility. The butler was in charge of the dining room, the wine cellar, pantry, and sometimes the entire main floor.  Directly under the butler was the first footman (or head footman), although there could also be a deputy butler or under-butler who would fill in as butler during the butler's illness or absence.  The footman—there were frequently numerous young men in the role within a household—performed a range of duties including serving meals, attending doors, carrying or moving heavy items, and they often doubled as valets.  Valets themselves performed a variety of personal duties for their employer.  Butlers engaged and directed all these junior staff and each reported directly to him.  The housekeeper was in charge of the house as a whole and its appearance. In a household without an official head housekeeper, female servants and kitchen staff were also directly under the butler's management, while in smaller households, the butler usually doubled as valet. Employers and their children and guests addressed the butler (and under-butler, if there was one) by last name alone; fellow servants, retainers, and tradespersons as "Mr. [Surname]".

Butlers were typically hired by the master of the house but usually reported to its lady.   Beeton in her manual suggested a GBP 25–50 (USD 2,675–5,350) per-year salary for butlers; room and board and livery clothing were additional benefits, and  tipping known as vails, were common.   The few butlers who were married had to make separate housing arrangements for their families, as did all other servants within the hierarchy.

Butlers in early America

From the beginning of slavery in America, in the early 17th century, African Americans were put to task as domestic servants. Some eventually became butlers.  Gary Puckrein, a social historian, argues that those used in particularly affluent homes authentically internalised the sorts of "refined" norms and personal attributes that would reflect highly upon the social stature of their masters or mistresses.  One of the first books written and published through a commercial U.S. publisher by an African American was by a butler named Robert Roberts.  The book, The House Servant's Directory,  first published in 1827, is essentially a manual for butlers and waiters, and is called by Puckrein "the most remarkable book by an African American in antebellum America".  The book generated such interest that a second edition was published in 1828, and a third in 1843. 

European indentured servants formed a corps of domestic workers from which butlers were eventually drawn.  Although not the victims of institutionalised slavery, many of them had not volunteered for domestic service, but were forced into it by indebtedness or coercion.  As with African American slaves, they could rise in domestic service, and their happiness or misery depended greatly on the disposition of their masters.

The modern butler

Beginning around the early 1920s (following World War I), employment in domestic service occupations began a sharp overall decline in western European countries, and even more markedly in the United States.  Even so, there were still around 30,000 butlers employed in Britain by World War II.  As few as one hundred were estimated to remain by the mid-1980s.  Social historian Barry Higman argues that a high number of domestic workers within a society correlates with a high level of socio-economic inequality. Conversely, as a society undergoes levelling among its social classes, the number employed in domestic service declines. 

Following varied shifts and changes accompanying accelerated globalisation beginning in the late 1980s, overall global demand for butlers since the turn of the millennium has risen dramatically. According to Charles MacPherson, President of Charles MacPherson Associates and owner of The Charles MacPherson Academy for Butlers and Household Managers, the proximate cause is that the number of millionaires and billionaires has increased in recent years, and such people are finding that they desire assistance in managing their households. MacPherson emphasises that the number of wealthy people in China has increased particularly, creating in that country a high demand for professional butlers who have been trained in the European butlering tradition.  There is also increasing demand for such butlers in other Asian countries, India, and the petroleum-rich Middle East.  

Higman additionally argues that the inequality/equality levels of societies are a major determinant of the nature of the domestic servant/employer relationship.   As the 21st century approached, many butlers began carrying out an increasing number of duties formerly reserved for more junior household servants.  Butlers today may be called upon to do whatever household and personal duties their employers deem fitting, in the goal of freeing their employers to carry out their own personal and professional affairs.  Professional butler and author Steven M. Ferry states that the image of tray-wielding butlers who specialise in serving tables and decanting wine is now anachronistic, and that employers may well be more interested in a butler who is capable of managing a full array of household affairs—from providing the traditional dinner service, to acting as valet, to managing high-tech systems and multiple homes with complexes of staff.  While in truly grand houses the modern butler may still function exclusively as a top-ranked household affairs manager,  in lesser homes, such as those of dual-income middle-class professionals, they perform a full array of household and personal assistant duties,  including mundane housekeeping.   Butlers today may also be situated within corporate settings, embassies, cruise ships, yachts, or within their own small "Rent-a-Butler" business or similar agency. 

Along with these changes of scope and context, butlering attire has changed. Whereas butlers have traditionally worn a special uniform that separated them from junior servants, and although this is still often the case, butlers today may wear more casual clothing geared for climate, while exchanging it for formal business attire only upon special service occasions.  There are cultural distinctions, as well.  In the United States, butlers may frequently don a polo shirt and slacks, while in Bali they typically wear sarongs. 

In 2007, the number of butlers in Britain had risen to an estimated 5,000. 

The period drama, Downton Abbey, has been credited as the reason for a sudden upsurge in the demand for 'properly trained butlers'. 

Training

Butlers traditionally learned their position while progressing their way up the service ladder.  For example, in the documentary The Authenticity of Gosford Park, retired butler Arthur Inch (born 1915) describes starting as a hall boy.   While this is still often the case, numerous private butlering schools exist today, such as The British Butler Institute, and top graduates can start at US$50,000–60,000 (£25,350–30,400).  Additionally, major up-market hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton offer traditional butler training, while some hotels have trained a sort of pseudo-butler for service in defined areas such as "technology butlers", who fix guests' computers and other electronic devices, and "bath butlers" who draw custom baths.  In addition to formal training, a few books have been published to assist butlers in their duties, including Arthur Inch's and Arlene Hirst's 2003 Dinner is Served.  Moreover, websites, as well as a news publication, Modern Butlers' Journal, help butlers to network and keep abreast of developments within their field.

Gender and butlering

Butlers have traditionally been male, and this remains the norm.  Probably the first mention of a female butler is in the 1892 book Interludes being Two Essays, a Story, and Some Verses by Horace Smith. In it Smith quotes a certain Sydney Smith who had apparently run into lean times: 

A man servant was too expensive, so I caught up a little garden girl, made like a milestone, christened her Bunch, put a napkin in her hand, and made her my butler. The girls taught her to read, Mrs. Sydney to wait, and I undertook her morals.  Bunch became the best butler in the country. 

Today, female butlers are sometimes preferred,  especially for work within Middle and Far Eastern families where it may be religiously problematic for males to work closely with females in a household.  Western female celebrities may also prefer a female butler,  as may households where the wife is driving the decision to hire a butler. In 2004, Buckingham Palace announced it was actively recruiting females for the position.  Despite these trends, the Ivor Spencer School asserts that female butlers are not easily placed, on the whole.

The Charles MacPherson Academy for Butlers and Household Managers reports that 40% of the students admitted into its program are women.  The school goes onto report that the labour market still has a preference for male butlers, however, the market is becoming more progressive and increasing numbers of female butlers are being hired. 

In ancient times, the roles precursive to butlering were reserved for chattel or those confined within heredity-based class structures. With the advent of the medieval era, butlering became an opportunity for social advancement—even more so during Victorian times. Although still based upon various antecedent roles as manifested during different eras, butlering today has frequently taken over many of the roles formerly reserved for lower-ranking domestic servants.  At the same time it has become a potentially lucrative career option. 

Historically important butlers

*Eugene Allen, White House butler who served under eight U.S. presidents
*Grant Harrold, butler to Charles, Prince of Wales and etiquette expert, founder of Nicholas Veitch Limited
*Paul Burrell, butler to Diana, Princess of Wales
*Ivor Spencer, toastmaster and etiquette specialist, head of the Ivor Spencer International School for Butler Administrators/Personal Assistants and Estate Managers
*Leslie Bartlett, butler, toastmaster and founder of The London School of British Butlers
*Alonzo Fields, White House chief butler from 1932–1953

In visual art

Butlers have been occasionally depicted in visual art. A famous painting, Heads of Six of Hogarth's Servants (c. 1758), is unique among such works.  In it, the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth depicted his household servants, each surrounding the butler.  In showing the group in a close-knit assemblage rather than in the performance of their routine household duties, Hogarth sought to humanise and dignify them in a manner akin to wealthy-class members, who were the normal subjects of such portraits. While this was a subversive act that certainly raised many eyebrows in his day—Hogarth conspicuously displayed the work in his estate home in full view of guests—at the same time he had painted his servants' facial expressions to convey the sincerity and deference expected of servant-class members. 

In contemporary art, "The Butler's in Love" series by U.S. artist Mark Stock is especially poignant. In the series, Stock portrays the butler as sick with love, but the possibility of fulfillment is hopeless: the love is a forbidden love, perhaps felt for the lady of the house, and so it must be suffered alone in silent concealment.  In addition to the ongoing mannerisms and facial expressions of the butler, a seated lady once appearing in a curtained room and a recurring lipstick-stained absinthe glass over which the butler obsesses provide the interpretive clues.  In selecting a butler as his subject, Stock sought to provide a "universal character", a pathos-laden figure that could be widely related to and that could depict the universality of loneliness felt by someone who can only look in from the outside. Stock began the series in 1985 to express his difficult feelings during a personal experience of unrequited love.  One of the paintings was inspiration for a 3-D short film, "The Butler's in Love" by actor/director David Arquette, shot in 2008 at San Francisco's historic Westerfield Mansion.   

In fiction

The real-life modern butler attempts to be discreet and unobtrusive, friendly but not familiar, keenly anticipative of the needs of his or her employer, and graceful and precise in execution of duty. The butler of fiction, by contrast, often tends to be larger than life and has become a plot device in literature and a traditional role in the performing arts. Butlers may provide comic relief with wry comments, clues as to the perpetrators of various crimes, and are represented as at least as intelligent and moral as their “betters,” or even more so. They are often portrayed as being serious and expressionless and in the case that the wealthy hero is an orphan—such as Batman, Chrono Crusade's Satella Harvenheit, or Tomb Raider's Lara Croft—may be a father figure to said hero. Regardless of the genre in which they are cast, butlers in fiction almost invariably follow the "British butler" model and are given an appropriate-sounding surname. The fictional butler tends to be given a typical Anglo-Celtic surname and have an English accent. The Asian, African American, or Caribbean houseboy is a variant, but even these major-domos are based on the British icon.

Today, butlers are usually portrayed as being refined and well-spoken. However, in 19th century fiction such as Dracula, butlers generally spoke with a strong Cockney or other regional accent.

"The butler" is integral to the plot of countless potboilers and melodramas, whether or not the character has been given a name. Butlers figure so prominently in period pieces and whodunits that they can be considered stock characters in film and theatre, where a catchphrase is "The butler did it!"

The best-known fictional manservant, and the prototype of the quintessential British butler, is himself not a butler at all. Reginald Jeeves, the iconic creation of author P. G. Wodehouse is a "gentleman's gentleman" and general factotum. Probably the best-known fictional butlers are Alfred from the Batman comic and films; Hudson of Upstairs, Downstairs television fame; Mr Carson from the Downton Abbey television series; and Crichton from J. M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton. Lesser-knowns include Mr. Belvedere from the novel Belvedere, which was adapted into a feature film with sequels and later a television series; Lurch, from the television series The Addams Family, based on Charles Addams' The New Yorker cartoons; Beach, from the Wodehouse series about Blandings Castle; Niles, the butler at the Sheffield house in American sitcom The Nanny, and Benson from the two series Soap and Benson.

Not all fictional butlers portray the "butler stereotype", however. Alan Bates, who played the butler Jennings in the film Gosford Park, was coached in brooding detail by Arthur Inch, a longtime real-life butler.   Mr. Stevens, the butler played by Anthony Hopkins in the film Remains of the Day, was also acted with remarkable realism. A female butler, Sarah Stevens, is the principal character in Linda Howard's 2002 Dying to Please, a murder/romance novel. Howard gives detailed and generally accurate descriptions of butlering in the work. 

Examples

*Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler from Batman
*Edwin Jarvis, Tony Stark's butler from Iron Man
*Geoffrey Butler, the butler for the Banks Family on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
*Ronove, the demon butler and highest-ranking furniture of the Golden Witch; Beatrice and the Endless Sorcerer, Battler from Umineko no Naku Koro ni
*Angus Hudson, from the television show Upstairs, Downstairs
*Benson DuBois, the Tate butler in the hit 1970's sitcom, Soap
*Edmund Blackadder, butler to Prince George the Prince Regent, in the TV Series Blackadder the Third
*Nestor, the butler of Marlinspike Hall in The Adventures of Tintin
*Niles the butler in the TV Series The Nanny
*Sebastian Michaelis, a demon disguised as a man bound by contract to his master in the Black Butler manga and anime series
*Sebastian Beach, from the Blandings Castle stories by P. G. Wodehouse, frequently conspires with the clever Gally Threepwood
*Smithers, Veronica Lodge's fictional butler
*Hugh Edgar, butler, The Edwardian Country House, 2002 British historical recreation TV series
*Charles Carson, butler to the Crawley family in Downton Abbey
*John Lawless, a central character in the 1967 Sherman Brothers' musical movie The Happiest Millionaire played by 60 teen idol Tommy Steele.
*Wadsworth, the protagonist in the movie Clue
*Mr. Stevens, the protagonist of Kazuo Ishiguro's Booker Prize-winning novel, The Remains of the Day and movie of the same name
*Spencer, butler in Power Rangers Operation Overdrive
*Cadbury, butler to Richie Rich
*Higgins, from the sitcom Our Man Higgins and the radio comedy on which it was based, It's Higgins, Sir
*Underling, the butler in the 2006 Broadway Musical The Drowsy Chaperone
*The titular protagonist of Hayate the Combat Butler; Hayate Ayasaki
*Butler, the butler for Prince Salde Canarl Shellbrick III off of the puzzle game Puyo Puyo Fever 2
*Giles, the butler for ABC's Whodunnit? TV series
*Subaru Konoe, the female butler of Kanade Suzutsuki who is disguised as a male in the Mayo Chiki! anime, manga and light novel
*Domovoi Butler, butler to Artemis Fowl in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl book series. Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE (19 December 1923 – 15 January 1990) was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and as George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals. He also portrayed Flt. Lt. Andrew MacDonald, "Intelligence", in The Great Escape. 

Early life

Gordon Jackson was born in Glasgow in 1923, the youngest of five children. He attended Hillhead High School, and in his youth he took part in BBC radio shows including Children's Hour.  He left school aged 15 and became a draughtsman for Rolls-Royce.  

Acting career

His film career began in 1942, when producers from Ealing Studios were looking for a young Scot to act in The Foreman Went to France and he was suggested for the part. After this, he returned to his job at Rolls-Royce, but he was soon asked to do more films, and he made the decision to make acting his career.  Jackson soon appeared in other films, including Millions Like Us, San Demetrio London, The Captive Heart, Eureka Stockade and Whisky Galore!. In the early years of his career, Jackson also worked in repertory theatre in Glasgow, Worthing and Perth.

In 1949, he starred in the film Floodtide, along with actress Rona Anderson. He and Anderson married two years later on 2 June 1951. They had two sons, Graham and Roddy. The same year, he made his London stage debut, appearing in Seagulls Over Sorrento.

In the 1950s and 1960s he appeared on television in programmes such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, ABC of Britain, Gideon's Way and The Avengers. In 1955 he had a small part in The Quatermass Xperiment, the film version of the BBC TV serial. He later had supporting roles in the films The Great Escape, The Bridal Path and The Ipcress File. In 1969, he and his wife had important roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. That year, he played Horatio in Tony Richardson's production of Hamlet and he won a Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actor, having also taken part in the film version.

Gordon Jackson became a household name playing the stern Scottish butler Hudson in sixty episodes of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs from 1971 to 1975. In 1976, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor for the episode "The Beastly Hun". In 1974, he was named British Actor of the Year and in 1979 he was made an OBE. Jackson was cast opposite Bette Davis for the American television film Madame Sin (1972), which was released in overseas markets as a feature film.

His next big television role was in The Professionals from 1977. He played George Cowley in all 57 episodes until the programme's end in 1983, although filming had finished in 1981. He played Noel Strachan in the Australian World War II drama A Town Like Alice (1981), winning a Logie Award for his performance.

After A Town Like Alice and The Professionals, Gordon Jackson continued his television work with appearances in Hart to Hart, Campion and Shaka Zulu, and the films The Shooting Party and The Whistle Blower. He also appeared in the theatre, appearing in Cards on the Table, adapted from the novel by Agatha Christie at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1981, and in Mass Appeal by Bill C. Davis at the Lyric Hammersmith in 1982. From 1985 to 1986, Jackson narrated two afternoon cookery shows in New Zealand for TVNZ called Fresh and Fancy Fare and its successor Country Fare. His last role before his death was in Effie's Burning, and this was broadcast posthumously.

Death

In 1989, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and died the following year, aged 66, in London. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium. 

Partial filmography

* The Foreman Went to France (1942)
* Nine Men (1943)
* Millions Like Us (1943)
* San Demetrio London (1943)
* Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945)
* The Captive Heart (1946)
* Against the Wind (1948)
* Eureka Stockade (1949)
* Floodtide (1949)
* Stop Press Girl (1949)
* Whisky Galore! (1949)
* Bitter Springs (1950)
* Happy Go Lovely (1951)
* The Lady with the Lamp (1951)
* Castle in the Air (1951)
* Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
* Death Goes to School (1953)
* Delavine Affair (1954)
* The Love Lottery (1954)
* Moby Dick—Rehearsed (1955, TV)
* Windfall (1955)
* Passage Home (1955)
* The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
* Women Without Men (1956)
* Pacific Destiny (1956)
* The Baby and the Battleship (1956)
* Sailor Beware! (1956)
* Rockets Galore! (1957)
* Seven Waves Away (1957)
* Let's Be Happy (1957)
* Hell Drivers (1957)
* Man in the Shadow (1957)
* Three Crooked Men (1958)
* Blind Spot (1958)
* The Price of Silence (1959)
* The Navy Lark (1959)

* Yesterday's Enemy (1959)
* The Bridal Path (1959)
* Blind Date (1959)
* Cone of Silence (1960)
* Tunes of Glory (1960)
* Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961)
* Two Wives at One Wedding (1961)
* Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
* The Great Escape (1963)
* The Long Ships (1964)
* Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
* The Ipcress File (1965)
* Cast a Giant Shadow (1966)
* The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966)
* Triple Cross (1966) uncredited
* The Night of the Generals (1967)
* Danger Route (1967)
* The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
* Run Wild, Run Free (1969)
* Hamlet (1969)
* Scrooge (1970)
* Kidnapped (1971)
* Madame Sin (1972)
* Russian Roulette (1975)
* Spectre (1977, TV movie)
* Golden Rendezvous (1977)
* The Medusa Touch (1978)
* A Town Like Alice (1981, TV)
* The Masks of Death (1984, TV movie)
* The Shooting Party (1985)
* Shaka Zulu (1986, TV)
* The Whistle Blower (1986)
* My Brother Tom (1986, TV)
* Campion (1989, TV)
* The Lady and the Highwayman (1989, TV movie)
* Noble House (1989, TV) Upstairs, Downstairs is a British television drama series originally produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975.

Set in a large townhouse in Edwardian, First World War and interwar Belgravia in London, the series depicts the lives of the servants "downstairs" and their masters—the family "upstairs". Great events feature prominently in the episodes but minor or gradual changes are also noted. The series stands as a document of the social and technological changes that occurred between 1903 and 1930.

Background 

Upstairs, Downstairs was originally an idea by two actress friends, Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, for a comedy called Behind the Green Baize Door. It would focus on two housemaids, played by Marsh and Atkins, in a large country house in the Victorian era. They soon added a family upstairs, as Marsh recognised "Servants have to serve somebody".  In summer 1969, they took this idea to Sagitta Productions, which was run by John Hawkesworth and John Whitney. They soon removed the comedy element, changed the setting to a large townhouse in Edwardian London and the title became Below Stairs. It was first offered to Granada Television in Manchester, but they declined as they already had a period drama, called A Family at War, about to start. However, Stella Richman, the Controller of Programmes at London Weekend Television, saw potential, and in April 1970, the first series was commissioned.

Characters were then developed, but when Alfred Shaughnessy, an old friend of John Hawkesworth, was called in as script editor, he changed much of the detail to make the characters more realistic. Honor Blackman was short-listed for the role of Lady Marjorie and George Cole for that of the butler, Hudson. Eileen Atkins, who was to play the other maid opposite Jean Marsh, was playing Queen Victoria in a stage show at the time, so Pauline Collins took the role, and Gordon Jackson was offered the role of Hudson after it was decided that Londoner George Cole would not be suitable to play a Scotsman. The programme took many names, including Two Little Maids in Town, The Servants' Hall and That House in Eaton Square. It was called 165 Eaton Place until just before the production of the first episode when it was changed to Upstairs, Downstairs, following a suggestion from John Hawkesworth.

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 master tapes of the programme spent nearly a year in storage awaiting a transmission date. Eventually the network had a space in its schedule at the unfashionable time of Sunday nights at 10:15 and called upon LWT to fill it. They chose Upstairs, Downstairs, and with no promotion of the show, there was little expectation of success. However, audiences steadily grew and the series became a hit.

Cast and characters 

Plot 

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 household is led by Lady Marjorie Bellamy (née Talbot-Carey), daughter of the Earl and Countess of Southwold, and her husband Richard Bellamy MP, the son of a country parson. They married despite the objections of her parents and set up house at 165 Eaton Place, one of several London properties owned by Lord Southwold. Richard is a politician, and several plots revolve around his political ambitions and conflicts arising from his desire to follow his conscience and his allegiance to his father-in-law's political party, the Conservatives ("Tories").

Richard and Lady Marjorie Bellamy have two children, James and Elizabeth, who are, respectively, in their early twenties and late teens when the series starts in 1903. In 1912, James' ill-fated wife Hazel becomes the new mistress of the house, and the following year, Richard's ward, Georgina, comes to live at 165 Eaton Place.

The original servant staff comprises 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, who dreams of a dramatic life beyond servantdom, coachman Pearce, and Lady Marjorie's lady's maid Maude Roberts. Over the years they are joined by Edward, a cheeky footman who later becomes a chauffeur; Daisy, the parlourmaid who eventually marries Edward; Thomas Watkins, the devious chauffeur who dabbles with Sarah's affections; and Ruby, the slow-witted kitchen maid.

In the episode "Another Year" from series 4, Hazel Bellamy notes that there are two families living in the house, one upstairs and the other downstairs, which she likens to a related family: Mr Hudson and Mrs Bridges are the father and mother; Rose, the eldest daughter who lost her man at the front; Edward and his wife, Daisy; and Ruby, the youngest child.

1903–1910 

The first and second series span the period 1903 to 1910, during the reign of Edward VII. In 1903, Sarah Moffat applies for a job as under-house-parlour maid for the Bellamy family, pretending to be of French nobility but soon revealed to be illiterate, English, and with no work history. Later in the year, Lady Marjorie poses for Bohemian artist Mr Scone, who simultaneously paints a nude portrait of Sarah and (an imagined) Rose; he exhibits both pictures at the Royal Academy, causing a scandal. Later the Bellamys go on vacation to Scotland, and, with Mr Hudson gone, the servants carouse drunkenly through the house only to be caught by son James, who promises not to disclose their misbehaviour. James and Sarah later have an affair that results in Sarah's pregnancy. James is banished to India, and Sarah is sent to live at the Southwold estate for the duration of her pregnancy, only to return to Eaton Place on the night the Bellamys host the King; Sarah goes into labour, but the baby, a son, is stillborn. James eventually returns from India just before his mother's birthday on 6 May 1910 (which coincides with the death of King Edward VII), and brings with him his brash and gushing fiancée, Phyllis, the daughter of an army vet. James eventually breaks off the engagement, however, after deciding that Phyllis is not right for him.

Around 1905, daughter Elizabeth returns from Germany, to be prepared to be presented to the King and the Queen Consort at a social event, but her rebellious, headstrong nature causes her to flee the event. She has a talk with her servant Rose, who lectures her on the importance of duty and that it applies to everyone in the household. Elizabeth is soon enchanted with German Baron Klaus von Rimmer, who is actually a spy and plans to bribe and use her father in a lucrative military deal. He and Bellamy footman Alfred, flee to Germany after they are caught by Rose having sexual relations. Alfred is replaced by Edward Barnes, a young and naive footman whose fun-loving and immature nature initially annoys Mr Hudson.

In the summer of 1906, Lady Marjorie is enchanted by her son's friend Captain Charles Hammond, and has an affair with him. Her conscience gets the better of her and she breaks off the affair. Lady Bellamy leaves with Rose for the country, but while Rose is gone the new under-house-parlour maid, Mary Stokes, arrives in service pregnant, having been raped by Myles Radford, the son of a powerful politician and family friend. Richard Bellamy attempts to help her but the Radfords refuse to take responsibility and the legal system proves ineffective. Mary quits her job with the Bellamys, but departs with a small gift of money from some of the servants.

The following year, 1907, Mrs Van Groeben arrives from South Africa and Emily falls madly in love with her footman, William. They spend several of their days off together, but Mrs Van Groeben gets wind of the affair, and, considering Emily to be beneath William, forbids him to see her.  But the affair may have ended anyway, as William drops Emily like a stone when he learns of his mistress's disapproval, suggesting he never really cared about her anyway.  Emily is madly in love, however, and cannot bear life without him.  She commits suicide.  Mrs. Bridges, distraught with remorse over Emily's death, steals a baby from its pram outside a shop and hides it in her room. 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. The role of scullery maid is first replaced by Doris, then by Nellie, and then finally by Ruby, a hardworking young woman who is rather slow and is frequently scolded by Mrs Bridges.

In 1908, the daughter Elizabeth marries a young poet, Lawrence Kirbridge. Somewhat indifferent to his new responsibilities as a householder, he also avoids the baseness of marital relations with Elizabeth, preferring her pure and muse-like, and their marriage remains unconsummated. Elizabeth has a brief affair (arranged by her husband) with her husband's publisher, which results in her becoming pregnant, later giving birth to a daughter, Lucy Elizabeth. She joins a group of militant suffragettes and attacks the home of a prominent politician, which  results in her being sent to prison, only to be bailed out shortly thereafter by a wealthy Armenian gentleman called Julius Karekin. She later becomes involved with Karekin, who buys her a hat shop. But Karekin is more interested in buying his way into British society than he is in Elizabeth's affections. He buys the lease of 165 Eaton Place after the Bellamys are forced to sell in the aftermath of Lady Marjorie's father's death in 1909. He offers the lease to Elizabeth who then gives it to her parents. Richard and Lady Marjorie are in Karekin's debt. Elizabeth eventually moves to America in 1910 after her split from Karekin and divorce from Kirbridge. She is later said to have married a man named Dana. Sarah and Thomas Watkins, who had previously been employed as the valet of Lawrence Kirbridge, fall in love, resulting in Sarah becoming pregnant again. They eventually leave service.  While in the Upstairs, Downstairs episode "A Family Gathering" it is stated that Thomas and Sarah were married, this fact is disregarded in the spin-off series Thomas & Sarah. 

1912–1914 

Lady Marjorie, her brother Hugo Talbot-Carey (the Earl of Southwold), and his new wife (widow Marion Worsley) die in the sinking of the RMS Titanic, her last known words being uttered to her maid—"Keep this for me, Roberts"—as she hands over her jewellery box. Miss Roberts returns alive refusing to let anyone touch the jewellery box, believing she is keeping it for Lady Marjorie. Richard's new secretary, Hazel Forrest, wins the hearts of all when she very gently persuades Miss Roberts to open the box. That means accepting Lady Marjorie is gone and she breaks down into sobs, as she cries, "I tried to save her! I tried to make them [the life boat] go back! I tried to save my Lady."

Richard had hired Hazel Forrest to type the biography of his father-in-law, the old Earl of Southwold, which he is writing. Soon after, she and James fall in love and eventually marry. Hazel becomes mistress of the household, and they are happy for a time but start to grow apart due to James' habitual self-serving ways, but this estrangement is worsened by a miscarriage in the spring of 1914.

Georgina Worsley, James' step-cousin, comes to live with the Bellamys at Christmas 1913, aged 18. Georgina is the orphaned stepdaughter of Lady Marjorie's brother Hugo. She decides to "steal" some food from the pantry and offer it to the family of Daisy, the new parlourmaid, but she is horrified when she discovers Daisy's family live in the kind of abject poverty she has never had to experience.

Rose, the head houseparlourmaid, is shocked when Alfred, the Bellamys' former footman, turns up at Eaton Place one night. He claims he's been sacked by his former employer and is homeless. She agrees to hide him in one of the basement rooms, but is horrified when it later transpires Alfred is actually on the run from the police having murdered his previous employer. After taking Edward hostage in the coal cellar, Alfred is arrested and eventually hanged for murder. The following year, Rose briefly becomes engaged to an Australian sheep-farmer called Gregory Wilmot whom she meets on an omnibus one day. She agrees to move to Australia with him, but later becomes frightened of making such a leap, and changes her mind, deciding to remain in the life she knows at Eaton Place.

Richard, who has had to sell the lease of the house to James after Lady Marjorie's death (all her money passed on to James and Elizabeth), makes money after a share tip-off from a member of his gentleman's club. Richard is later unjustly accused of insider dealing, and it is only the intervention of Hazel and Hudson that saves his career and reputation. (This plot was inspired by the Marconi scandal of 1912).

During a visit to Somerby, the country house of James' school-friend Lord "Bunny" Newbury in the Autumn of 1913, Edward unwittingly becomes the witness in an impending divorce case when he spies rising Tory MP Lord Charles Gilmour leaving the bedroom of a fellow MP's wife. Edward is put under pressure to lie and change his story, but he refuses, and the case is withdrawn after pressure from Richard.

The servants are offered a day's holiday in Herne Bay in Kent in August 1914.  They enjoy a rare day out together, and Hudson goes so far as to offer a song on the vaudeville stage, but their enjoyment is curtailed by the announcement that Britain is about to go to war with Germany.  Hudson sings "Rule Britannia" instead.

1914–1918 

James serves in World War I, is seriously injured in a trench battle and brought home, amid much difficulty, to recover. He is nursed by his step-cousin Georgina, who now volunteers as a VAD Nurse and serves in France during the war.  Georgina and James develop a close understanding and affection during the war but do not go so far as to become lovers.  Downstairs, Edward signs up and fights in the trenches, Hudson serves as a Special Constable, Rose works as a bus conductress, and Ruby leaves Eaton Place to work in a munitions factory in Silvertown, returning to service after the Silvertown explosion.  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. He is killed while James is at home on leave. Rose meets up with Gregory Wilmot again.  After overcoming their emotional and practical hurdles, she finally agrees to marry him on his return from the war and follow him to Australia. Unfortunately he is killed in action. Rose is heartbroken but Gregory has left her £1200 in his will, enough to make her independent in her retirement. Edward returns, and while not physically wounded, suffers badly from shell shock and goes into hospital. He speaks to Richard, who comforts him as if he were his own son, assuring him that mental wounds are as real as physical, and no mark on his character.

In 1918, just as the War ended, Hazel dies, aged around 35, in the worldwide influenza pandemic.  Griefstricken, James lets Georgina comfort him, but she wisely stops him from any further closeness.  Richard later marries a young widow named Virginia Hamilton, whose eldest son Michael was killed in the war when he was 17 in the spring of 1918. Her other children are Alice, aged 10 and William, 6, when Richard proposes to Virginia in late October/November 1918.  The house comes alive with the arrival of the new Lady and two children. Alice becomes very attached to Rose, who is soon given duties that keep her upstairs with the children and the new Lady Bellamy.  Richard is elevated to the House of Lords as Viscount Bellamy of Haversham in the New Year Honours List of 1917.

1919–1930 

(Note: At the end of the fourth season, according to Jean Marsh and Simon Williams, they, along with other cast members, were ready and eager to move on to other projects. However, they were persuaded to do a fifth and final season showing the Bellamy family and staff entering the decade of the twenties and ending the series with the start of the Great Depression. In addition, six new cast members were added to the household, which included two servants Frederick and Lily, played by Gareth Hunt and Karen Dotrice; Richard Bellamy's new wife, Virginia (Hannah Gordon); Virginia's two children Alice and William (Anne Yarker and Jonathan Seely); and Shirley Cain as Miss Treadwell, the children's governess. In the fifth episode of that season, "Wanted: A Good Home", William is sent off to a boarding school while Alice resumes her schooling with Miss Treadwell. To compensate for William's absence, Rose gives Alice a dog - a cairn terrier named Thimble. While Lord and Lady Bellamy are away on a trip, Miss Treadwell quickly assumes the role as head of the house alienating the other servants as well as mentally and physically abusing Alice and the dog. Upon their return, Lord and Lady Bellamy dismiss Miss Treadwell and she leaves in disgust. Richard and Virginia then decide that Alice should go to a day school for her studies. After that installment, Alice, William, and the dog are never seen again, although Alice returns for a brief appearance in the final episode. Downstairs, Lily leaves her position as housemaid after the seventh episode "Disillusion" and Frederick departs Eaton Place after the eleventh installment "Alberto".) 

In the roaring 20s, Georgina and her friends rebel against the depression and hard times of the past war, but her frivolity and merriment are brought to a quick end — firstly by the suicide of a friend who professes his love for her and threatens to kill himself if she doesn't marry him, making good on this threat in the schoolroom at 165 Eaton Place, while a roaring 20s party rages below; secondly, by Georgina accidentally killing a working class man early one morning after borrowing Richard's car without asking (and without Edward driving) in order to win a prize for completing a scavenger hunt. Her friends, part of the set of moneyed, bored and pleasure-seeking "bright young things", desert her at the inquest, except the very rich but shallow Lady Dolly and the seemingly dull Lord Stockbridge, heir to a dukedom, who defends her despite his family's wishes. He is in love with Georgina and she very quickly falls in love with him. James never settles and is never able to come to terms with his war experiences and Hazel's death. Restless, he stands for Parliament, but is not elected.

Lord Stockbridge's parents send their son on a trip around the world to try to wean him from Georgina, under the guise of helping him discover whether his feelings are true. James returns from America, in October 1929, where he has visited Elizabeth and become rich through speculation on Wall Street. Rose allows James to invest the money Gregory left her when he died in the war, but the market crashes and James loses everything. James had also "borrowed a fair bit" that he now is unable to repay. He has disgraced his family and taken advantage of a member of staff who trusted him.  Depressed and ashamed of his entire life, he goes to a hotel in Maidenhead where he commits suicide.

Downstairs, Edward and Daisy have left Eaton Place and are replaced by Frederick (James' batman during the war) and Lily, respectively. Edward's job prospects are dim, and a pregnant Daisy loses the baby due to malnutrition; both are re-hired at Eaton Place as chauffeur and house parlourmaid, respectively.  Rose becomes children's maid and later Lady's Maid to Virginia when the children are sent off to school.  Romance blooms between Hudson and Lily, but she spurns him and leaves Eaton Place.  Ruby also meets a man named Herbert through magazine correspondence, but rejects him because "he was no Rudolph Valentino." Frederick discovers the allure of escorting young upper-class women to balls and other functions and ultimately leaves service.

The final episode, in 1930, finds things looking up at Eaton Place as Georgina is married to Lord Stockbridge on 12 June 1930. Mr Hudson and Mrs Bridges also finally marry, and take the uneducated but surprisingly shrewd kitchen maid, Ruby Finch, off to the seaside with them, to run a guest house called "Seaview" (however, one can only see the cliffs from the top bedroom window, over the other houses). When asked by Rose how she feels about becoming part of the Hudsons' household, Ruby says "They'll not last long and I'll get the guest house" (i.e., because of their age). Lord Bellamy has delivered his retirement speech to the House of Lords. He and Virginia, Lady Bellamy, retire to a small villa in Dorset, keeping Rose Buck in their employ. 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.

The last scene shows Rose taking a final walk through all of the (now empty) rooms and memories at 165 Eaton Place, which is up for sale. She hears the voices of Lady Marjorie, of Mr Hudson and the sounds of many incidents she had witnessed over the years, but when she finally hears the voice of James, talking about Gregory's honourable death in the war, she realises that it is time to move on and leaves through the front door.

Episodes 

Upstairs, Downstairs ran for five series from 10 December 1971 to 21 December 1975. The first four series had thirteen episodes each, while the final series had sixteen. Due to an industrial dispute over extra payments for using newly introduced colour equipment, during which broadcasting unions refused to allow their members to use colour cameras, the first six episodes of the first series were shot in black-and-white, and when colour production resumed, the first episode was remade in colour. Two endings were made, which could be shown depending on whether the black and white episodes were broadcast by the channel. The original untransmitted black-and-white version of the first episode is believed to have been wiped.

The opening credits of each episode featured a cartoon from the magazine Punch, and the lettering was drawn by the graphic designer Terry Griffiths. The theme tune was composed by Alexander Faris and entitled The Edwardians. It won an Ivor Novello Award. Part of this tune would be made into the song What Are We Going to Do with Uncle Arthur?, sung by Sarah, with lyrics written by Alfred Shaughnessy. Pauline Collins released this as a single in 1973. The theme tune was also used as the processional march for the church wedding of Elizabeth and Lawrence in series 1, Episode 13: For Love of Love.

Many writers wrote episodes throughout the five series, including Alfred Shaughnessy, John Hawkesworth, Fay Weldon, Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham, John Harrison, Julian Bond, Raymond Bowers, Jeremy Paul, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Anthony Skene and Elizabeth Jane Howard.

Production 

Each episode of Upstairs, Downstairs was made in a fortnightly production schedule. The book "Inside Updown" has a very detailed production history.  The first week and a half would be spent rehearsing, with two days in the studio - the latter part of the second day being used for recording.  Location footage was usually shot beforehand. The exterior shots of 165 Eaton Place were filmed at 65 Eaton Place with the "1" painted on. Upstairs, Downstairs was one of the first major colour productions to be made by LWT. Interior sequences were first recorded in LWT's first studio production area in Wembley in London, for all of series one and the episode "A Pair of Exiles" in series two. For the rest of series two and for the remaining three series the interior sequences were recorded in LWT's brand new studio complex called Kent House, or as it is known today The London Studios on London's Southbank. 

Herne Bay, features in series three, episode thirteen “The Sudden Storm”, when the staff take a day out to the seaside. 

Awards 

Upstairs, Downstairs was nominated for and won many national and international awards, winning two BAFTA awards, two Royal Television Society awards, three Writers Guild Awards, eight Emmys, and a Golden Globe.  It was nominated for a further seven BAFTAs, nine Emmys and four Golden Globes.  It was nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976, winning in 1972 and 1974. Pauline Collins was nominated for Best Actress in 1973 for her portrayal of Sarah Moffat and Gordon Jackson was nominated for Best Actor for playing Mr. Hudson in 1975. 

In the United States, Upstairs, Downstairs was honoured for both the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. In 1974, 1975, and 1977 it won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. In 1975, Jean Marsh won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while Bill Bain won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. The following year, it won for Outstanding Limited Series and Gordon Jackson won for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in Comedy or Drama Series, while Angela Baddeley was nominated for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In 1977, Jacqueline Tong was nominated for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. For the Golden Globes, Upstairs, Downstairs won the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Show - Drama in 1975 and was nominated again for the same award in 1978. Jean Marsh was nominated in 1975 and 1977 for Best TV Actress - Drama.

Alfred Shaughnessy, script editor and frequent writer, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award twice for the episodes "Miss Forrest" and "Another Year". John Hawkesworth, frequent writer and producer, was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode "The Bolter". Fay Weldon won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best British TV Series Script of 1971 for "On Trial".

Spin-offs 

Following the final episode of Upstairs, Downstairs many ideas for spin-offs were thought of. 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 emigrating 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.  Another idea, called You Live or You Die, was to have Frederick Norton seeking his fortune in the US. A further idea would have followed Hudson, Mrs Bridges and Ruby running their seaside boarding house, and this probably would have been made had it not been for the death of Angela Baddeley on 22 February 1976. The only spin-off to make it onscreen was Thomas & Sarah, which broadcast in 1979, and this followed the adventures of Thomas and Sarah after they left Eaton Place.

A short-lived CBS series entitled Beacon Hill, which aired in the fall of 1975, was loosely based upon Upstairs, Downstairs; its executive producer, Beryl Vertue, was Jean Marsh's literary agent and had been responsible for helping sell the original Upstairs, Downstairs to the BBC. 

In 2011, the BBC ran a series entitled "Royal Upstairs Downstairs" in which Tim Wonnacott and Rosemary Shrager tour country houses visited by Queen Victoria. Tim tours the Upstairs concentrating on the architecture and events of Victoria's visit, while Rosemary concentrates on the downstairs, demonstrating recipes cooked for the Queen.

Novelisations 

Each series of Upstairs, Downstairs was accompanied by a novelisation, with additional detail in each, but also with some episodes missing. All books were published by Sphere Books. The novelisation of the first series, Upstairs, Downstairs or the secrets of an Edwardian household, was written by John Hawkesworth and published in 1972. Hawkesworth also wrote the series two novelisation, In My Lady's Chamber and this was published in 1973. The following year, Mollie Hardwick's novelisation of the third series, The Years of Change, was published and she also wrote the 1975 The War to End Wars, the fourth series novelisation. The fifth series, which was longer than the others, was novelised in two books, both by Michael Hardwick and published in 1975. They were called On With The Dance and Endings and Beginnings.

As well as these novelisations, five books were separately published, again by Sphere Books, with each being the biography of a main character before the series started. Rose's Story was written by Terence Brady & Charlotte Bingham and published in 1972. The following year, Mollie Hardwick's Sarah's Story and Michael Hardwick's Mr Hudson's Diaries were both published. Mr Bellamy's Story, by Michael Hardwick, was published in 1974 and Mrs Bridge's Story by Mollie Hardwick was published in 1975. Also in 1975, The Upstairs, Downstairs Omnibus, featuring all five slightly edited stories, was published.

John Pearson published The Bellamys of Eaton Place (a.k.a. The Bellamy Saga) in 1976.

Influence 

The BBC series The Duchess of Duke Street is widely seen as the BBC's answer to Upstairs, Downstairs, not least because some of the same producers and writers worked on it, and it also has a theme tune by Faris. The 1990 BBC sitcom You Rang, M'Lord? also featured a similar situation. In the early 1990s, Marsh and Atkins created another successful period drama, The House of Eliott, for the BBC. In 1975, an American version, entitled Beacon Hill, debuted but due to low ratings it was soon cancelled, running for just thirteen episodes.  Tom Wolfe called the series a plutography, i.e. a "graphic depiction of the lives of the rich".

A Monsterpiece Theater sketch on Sesame Street, introduced/narrated by Cookie Monster (as Alistair Cookie — a play on Alistair Cooke, who was at that time the host of Masterpiece Theater), was entitled Upstairs, Downstairs and featured Grover running up and down a staircase until collapsing from exhaustion. 

In 2000, a stop-motion animated series called Upstairs, Downstairs Bears, co-produced by Canada's Cinar and Scottish Television for the CITV block, was based upon Upstairs, Downstairs.  Ironically, it happened to air on the very last day of London Weekend Television's broadcasting under that brand (as part of the CITV block) on October 27, 2002; the next day LWT was subsumed into ITV London.

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. 

From November 2008 to January 2010 variations (played in different styles, e.g., a fugue, jazz, calypso, death metal) of the theme music were played on BBC Radio 4's PM programme to introduce a segment entitled "Upshares, Downshares", in which Nils Blythe ran through the day's business news.  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.  

Revival 

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. The new series was created and written by Heidi Thomas. The first series aired from 26 December 2010. Eileen Atkins appeared in the first series, but left her role before production on the second series began.

DVD Video releases 

Region One 

Upstairs, Downstairs was first released to Region One DVD in December 2001 by A&E Home Entertainment. During 2002, it released the remaining series and then released Thomas and Sarah on DVD in 2004. The individual releases have also been collected together into two boxed sets, the second of which, The Collector's Edition Megaset, also includes Thomas and Sarah. These are all out of print. Acorn Media is due to re-release the entire series, without Thomas and Sarah, in a 21-disc set that duplicates the content of the Network set listed below.

Region Two 

Upstairs, Downstairs was originally released on DVD by VCI in Region 2 (UK). The colour episodes of the first series were released in 2001 followed by the other series finishing in 2003. In 2004, the black-and-white episodes and the first episode with the original ending were released. Thomas & Sarah was released in matching packaging in 2004. In 2005, VCI stopped making these DVDs, none of which had included any extras.

Network Video released the entire programme series-by-series from 2005 to 2006. The episodes were digitally remastered and the black-and-white episodes were put in chronological order in the first series. Some episodes also featured audio commentaries, the LWT logo, commercial bumpers and the original preceding countdowns. In addition, each series was accompanied by a special one-hour documentary relating to that series featuring new and archive interviews. The fifth series release also featured the 1975 documentary Russell Harty goes . . . "Upstairs, Downstairs". In 2006, a boxed set featuring all the DVDs was released.

DVDs of the series have also been released in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

Region Four 

Universal DVD released all five series to DVD in Australia and New Zealand. These were later deleted. Timelife issued the series as a mail-order collection. ITV began re-releasing the series in Australia in January 2013.

The show is rated PG in New Zealand for its low level violence.
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