Upstairs, Downstairs

rc: Roberts

A strange Cockney girl who calls herself Clemence and claims to be French, comes to 165 Eaton Place, is engaged as an under-parlor maid, and named Sarah by Lady Bellamy.

b: 10 Oct 71 w: Fay Weldon d: Raymond Menmuir

Lady Marjorie sits for her portrait by Guthrie Scone, an avant-garde painter. Sarah is sent to Scone's studio with some of Lady Marjorie's dresses. A relationship begins which could end in a major scandal.

b: 17 Oct 71 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Derek Bennett

The Bellamys and their senior servants are away on their summer holidays. The junior servants, left behind on reduced pay to clean the house, indulge in a wild evening of drinking and dressing-up. James returns home in the middle of the festivities.

b: 24 Oct 71 w: Terence Brady & Charlotte Bingham d: Derek Bennett

rc: Roberts

Elizabeth Bellamy, home from abroad and about to make her society debut, shocks the family and servants by refusing to conform to custom. At her first grand ball she creates a scandal by running away.

b: 31 Oct 71 w: John Harrison d: Joan Kemp-Welch

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax

Elizabeth falls for a young German baron, who comes to call at the Bellamy house. The family are pleased as the von Rimmers are an old aristocratic family. But Richard Bellamy discovers things about the young Baron Klaus von Rimmer which changes the situation. Alfred experiences a whole new dimension to life.

b: 7 Nov 71 w: Jeremy Paul d: Joan Kemp-Welch

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Roberts

Richard Bellamy is alone in the house, working on a book. He finds the young under-house maid, Mary, crying in the library. He learns of her secret trouble, and unwisely promises to help, potentially endangering his political career.

b: 14 Nov 71 w: Julian Bond d: Derek Bennett

rc: Roberts

James Bellamy's friend, Hammond, a bronzed young Army captain from the North West Frontier, comes to the house and is persuaded to escort Lady Marjorie to the opera. Next day, the servants are buzzing with gossip that the mistress has fallen in love with the young captain.

b: 23 Jan 72 w: John Hawkesworth d: Joan Kemp-Welch

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax

Emily, the downtrodden young kitchen maid at Eaton Place, falls deeply and hopelessly in love with a footman. When things don't go well, she takes drastic action.

b: 30 Jan 72 w: Terence Brady & Charlotte Bingham d: Raymond Menmuir

Experiencing a guilt-induced breakdown over Emily's suicide, Mrs Bridges steals a baby from outside a store on the eve of an important dinner party. Not wishing to lose an invaluable cook, the family and Hudson intervene.

b: 6 Feb 72 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Brian Parker

Elizabeth and James discover Sarah who is starving in the East End. Elizabeth decides to re-install the girl in the household. However, once again, Sarah causes trouble and turmoil.

b: 13 Feb 72 w: Jeremy Paul d: Raymond Menmuir

James has a Swedish army officer, Capt Ryttsen, staying as guest at Eaton Place. Valuable objects begin to disappear. Suspicion falls on Sarah, who is under the spell of the officer's handsome batman.

b: 20 Feb 72 w: Raymond Bowers d: Brian Parker

rc: Lawrence Kirbridge

Elizabeth comes under the influence of a woman with radical views who leads her to meet a young poet, Lawrence Kirbridge.

b: 27 Feb 72 w: John Hawkesworth & Alfred Shaughnessy d: Raymond Menmuir

rc: Lawrence Kirbridge, Lady Prudence Fairfax

Elizabeth, now 21 and deeply in love with the poet Lawrence Kirbridge, is determined to lead a free and modern life. At the same time, James renews an old friendship with Sarah.

b: 5 Mar 72 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Herbert Wise

2nd Series 1972 : (set in 1908 to 1909)

rc: Lawrence Kirbridge

Elizabeth is married to Lawrence and lives in Greenwich. However, Lawrence is constantly making excuses to get away from London and habitually comes to bed late, usually after Elizabeth is asleep. Meanwhile, Rose is enjoying the flattering attentions of Watkins, the new manservant.

b: 21 Oct 72 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Raymond Menmuir

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon

After an evening with Sarah at her lodgings, James finds out that she is expecting his child. He makes a confession to his parents, which ultimately shatters the family and alters his own and Sarah's lives.

b: 28 Oct 72 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Cyril Coke

rc: Lawrence Kirbridge

Seeing his marriage to Elizabeth threatened by his own sexual failings, Lawrence Kirbridge asks Sir Edwin Partridge to help save it. Sir Edwin takes full advantage of his opportunity.

b: 4 Nov 72 w: John Harrison d: Raymond Menmuir

rc: Lawrence Kirbridge, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Roberts

Elizabeth comes home for Christmas without Lawrence. The Bellamys face another family crisis when it is discovered that Elizabeth is expecting a baby.

b: 10 Nov 72 w: Jeremy Paul d: Bill Bain

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Roberts

King Edward VII is coming to dinner at Eaton Place. Sarah arrives during the evening and threatens the occasion.

b: 17 Nov 72 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Bill Bain

Some love letters written by Lady Marjorie to James's friend, Hammond, fall into the wrong hands. The scandal is averted by the cool thinking of Thomas the chauffeur. Distrust with shared objectives permeate the Bellamys marriage.

b: 24 Nov 72 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Derek Bennett

rc: Roberts

Hudson's brother visits London, and Hudson elevates his own status in society in order to impress him. Hudson's secretive behavior arouses suspicion in the Bellamy household. A chance encounter potentially causes embarrassment.

b: 1 Dec 72 w: Fay Weldon d: Derek Bennett

rc: Lawrence Kirbridge, Roberts

The arrival at Eaton Place of the Bellamy's elderly Nanny to look after Elizabeth's new baby, together with Sarah's appointment as nursery maid, cause stormy scenes. Nanny is not what she was.

b: 8 Dec 72 w: Terence Brady & Charlotte Bingham d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Roberts

Lady Marjorie's widowed mother comes to stay. The disappearance of a valuable object causes malicious gossip and mutual suspicion among the servants.

b: 15 Dec 72 w: Jeremy Paul d: Raymond Menmuir

Elizabeth is having frequent and long discussions with an old school friend. Rose is determined to find out why. Her curiosity leads her to suffer a shattering experience in the world of the suffragettes.

b: 29 Dec 72 w: Anthony Skene d: Raymond Menmuir

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon

A sudden financial crisis threatens to force the Bellamys from Eaton Place. However, the wealthy Julius Karekin, an undesirable friend of Elizabeth's, offers a possible solution to the problem.

b: 5 Jan 73 w: John Hawkesworth d: Christopher Hodson

Sarah is found to be pregnant again. Thomas Watkins cleverly avoids blame and exploits the situation to his own advantage.

b: 12 Jan 73 w: Anthony Skene d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Roberts

Elizabeth breaks off a relationship. James returns from India with a fiance who causes a stir both upstairs and downstairs at Eaton Place. A birthday tea-party for Lady Bellamy is interrupted by an unwelcome visit from Thomas and Sarah. Thomas and Sarah move on to greener pastures.

b: 19 Jan 73 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Raymond Menmuir

3rd Series 1973 : (set in 1912 to 1914)

rc: Roberts

The third series opens in 1912 against a background of social change. The Edwardian era is over and the new age is just beginning. Richard is working on a political biography, assisted by a young typist, Hazel Forrest. James Bellamy, still unmarried and bored, precipitates a serious household crisis. Lady Marjorie leaves for America on the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

b: 27 Oct 73 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Bill Bain

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Roberts

Hazel is caught between downstairs and upstairs. Undaunted, she determines to find a less isolated niche in a tragedy-stricken Eaton Place.

b: 3 Nov 73 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Lady Diana Russell, Bunny Newbury

James Bellamy is invited to a weekend house-party by Bunny Newbury, who is now a Marquis. Hudson accompanies James, leading him to a personal crisis - ambition versus his loyalty to the Bellamy family.

b: 10 Nov 73 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Bill Bain

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax

Upset by his mother's death, James Bellamy finds sympathy from Hazel Forrest. However, Hazel declines James's offer of marriage without giving reasons.

b: 17 Nov 73 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Derek Bennett

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon

Rose recognises Alfred, a former servant at Eaton Place who left in disgrace. Out of pity she feeds Alfred and hides him in the basement. Hudson, however, discovers Alfred and plunges the entire household into a dangerous and terrifying situation.

b: 24 Nov 73 w: Jeremy Paul d: Bill Bain

The arrival of an attractive but penniless French Countess to Eaton Place brings a change of atmosphere. Richard smiles again for the first time since the death of Lady Marjorie. Gwyneth, the new under-housemaid, has romantic fantasies.

b: 1 Dec 73 w: Fay Weldon d: Lionel Harris

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon

Businessman Jack Challen recommends some engineering shares to Richard. This becomes a public scandal when the shares soar in value. Sir Geoffrey Dillon is again called in to get the Bellamys out of trouble.

b: 8 Dec 73 w: Anthony Skene d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Diana Newbury, Bunny Newbury

James and Hazel attend a foxhunting weekend at a large country house. Hazel is persuaded to take part in a practical joke, which backfires, exposing James to ridicule and herself to personal danger, resulting in their first big fight.

b: 15 Dec 73 w: John Hawkesworth d: Cyril Coke

rc: Georgina Worsley

Over a quiet and formal Christmas at the Bellamy residence, Georgina befriends Daisy, the new under-house parlor-maid. While the servants make merry, the girls set out on a charitable adventure, with distressing consequences.

b: 22 Dec 73 w: Alfred Shaughnessy & Deborah Mortimer d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Lady Prudence Fairfax

Butlers, footmen and valets of Belgravia habitually frequent the local pub, The Crown and Anchor. The pub is full when Edward describes to two friends something he witnessed at a country-house party. This lands him in trouble.

b: 29 Dec 73 w: Jeremy Paul d: Cyril Coke

On her afternoon off, Rose meets a young Australian sheep farmer. The speed of Rose's blossoming romance bewilders the other servants. Rose considers marriage and a move to Australia.

b: 5 Jan 74 w: Jeremy Paul d: Christopher Hodson

Hazel Bellamy is in bed recovering from the loss of her first baby. James thoughtlessly consoles himself by escorting Georgina to a ball, leaving his father to provide the comfort Hazel needs. This creates undercurrents of tension and an explosive atmosphere in the household.

b: 12 Jan 74 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Bill Bain

rc: Georgina Worsley

Against the background of First World War patriotic excitement, Hazel treats all the servants to a Bank Holiday day at the seaside. But for Mrs Bridges, a growing relationship between her and a middle-aged admirer causes problems.

b: 19 Jan 74 w: John Hawkesworth d: Bill Bain

4th Series 1974 : (set in 1914 to 1918)

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Georgina Worsley

For the Bellamy household, the world is fast becoming a different place. The Great War has broken out. The family anxiously awaits news of James, who is away at war. Meanwhile, Lady Prudence persuades Hazel to take in a family of Belgian refugees.

b: 14 Sep 74 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Derek Bennett

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon

James Bellamy, on leave from the Western Front, finds himself drawn into a discussion of the war. He describes at a dinner party, how the Army is desperately in need of guns and ammunition. Some of the guests pay very close attention.

b: 21 Sep 74 w: John Hawkesworth d: Derek Bennett

rc: Georgina Worsley

The bitter anti-German feeling generated by the sinking of the Lusitania causes the Bellamy servants to consider their own feelings when a local tradesman is found to be of German origin. Hazel discovers that Hudson has been spreading scare stories around the servants' hall and displaying an exaggerated hatred of Germans.

b: 28 Sep 74 w: Jeremy Paul d: Bill Bain

rc: Georgina Worsley

Edward and Daisy plan to marry while Edward is on leave. Georgina resolves to train as a VAD nurse. Ruby surprises everybody with her announcement that she is to leave Eaton Place to make munitions.

b: 5 Oct 74 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Georgina Worsley

James is on leave, depressed and frustrated with his staff job in the army. Hazel, understanding his longing to rejoin his regiment, decides to intercede.

b: 12 Oct 74 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Derek Bennett

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax

Lady Prudence and Hazel disagree about a tea-party for wounded officers. Rose has an unexpected reunion with a farmer from Australia whom she met before the war, and almost married.

b: 19 Oct 74 w: Jeremy Paul d: Bill Bain

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Georgina Worsley

At the tea-party for wounded officers, Hazel is attracted to a shy young officer and spends the remainder of his leave with him.

b: 26 Oct 74 w: John Hawkesworth d: Raymond Menmuir

The tragedy of war strikes at 165 Eaton Place, both upstairs and downstairs. The servants try to comfort a grieving Rose whose fiancé has been killed in battle. Meanwhile, Hazel deals with her own fears for her young airman.

b: 2 Nov 74 w: Alfred Shaughnessy & Elizabeth Jane Howard d: Raymond Menmuir

Edward comes back to Eaton Place on leave from the trenches. He is seriously affected by his experiences. Hazel learns that she has no prospect of seeing James in the near future.

b: 9 Nov 74 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Cyril Coke

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Georgina Worsley

Lady Prudence's charity matinee of historical tableaux is disrupted when a bomb falls on Eaton Place.

b: 16 Nov 74 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Bill Bain

rc: Georgina Worsley, Trooper Frederick Norton

James's batman, Norton, returns from France with James's personal effects. He tells how they were separated during the battle when the enemy overran their lines, and how German soldiers had been reported shooting badly injured Allied troops. The question is answered when a dramatic message arrives from France.

b: 23 Nov 74 w: Jeremy Paul d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Virginia Hamilton, Sir Geoffrey Dillon

Hazel has befriended Virginia Hamilton, young and attractive widow. Then Richard learns that Mrs Hamilton's young son, Michael, a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy, is to be court-martialed

b: 30 Nov 74 w: John Hawkesworth d: Raymond Menmuir

rc: Georgina Worsley, Virginia Hamilton

All the members of the Bellamy household are at home again as the Great War comes to a close. Richard proposes to Virginia, with whom he has fallen in love. James is still weak and recovering at home from his war wounds. Hazel becomes seriously ill with a flu virus.

b: 7 Dec 74 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Christopher Hodson

5th Series 1975 : (set in 1919 to 1930)

rc: Georgina Worsley, Virginia Bellamy, Trooper Frederick Norton

World War One is over and 165 Eaton Place moves into the Twenties. Richard plans for his future with his new wife, Virginia. The servants below stairs begin to wonder about their security. Edward and Daisy return to Eaton Place to discover that things have changed.

b: 7 Sep 75 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Bill Bain

rc: Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Virginia Bellamy, Trooper Frederick Norton

James has been invalided out of the Army and is seeking a worthwhile occupation. He decides to follow in his father's footsteps and enter politics.

b: 14 Sep 75 w: Jeremy Paul d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Georgina Worsley, Diana Newbury, Trooper Frederick Norton, Bunny Newbury

James and Georgina, caught up in the hysterical gaiety of the early Twenties, give a wild fancy-dress party which ends in tragedy. The new governess is due to arrive on the same day.

b: 21 Sep 75 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Derek Bennett

rc: Virginia Bellamy, Lady Prudence Fairfax, Trooper Frederick Norton

James takes his attractive young stepmother flying and anxiety grips the entire household when they are reported missing.

b: 28 Sep 75 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Bill Bain

rc: Virginia Bellamy, Trooper Frederick Norton

Virginia's son goes off to boarding-school and her daughter acquires both a governess and a puppy. The result is a major upset in the Bellamy household.

b: 5 Oct 75 w: John Hawkesworth d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Diana Newbury, Bunny Newbury

James is still bored and unsettled. An old flame is rekindled when he bumps into Diana Newbury in a London club. When James tells her that he is about to go off on a golfing holiday, Diana asks if she can join him there.

b: 12 Oct 75 w: John Hawkesworth d: Derek Bennett

rc: Georgina Worsley, Virginia Bellamy, Trooper Frederick Norton

When Hudson is seen at the Wembley Exhibition in the company of Lily, the housemaid, a serious household crisis develops. His future as butler is threatened. Meanwhile, Georgina returns from her trip to America.

b: 19 Oct 75 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Bill Bain

rc: Virginia Bellamy, Lady Prudence Fairfax, Trooper Frederick Norton

Richard is anxious to be appointed to the post of Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He thinks that the influential millionaire Sir Guy Paynter may be able to help him, so he asks Virginia to invite him to lunch. Events create a social dilemma for the Bellamys.

b: 26 Oct 75 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Georgina Worsley, Trooper Frederick Norton

The chaos of the 1926 General Strike divides the Bellamy household. James thinks the strike will turn into an armed revolution and Hudson experiences difficulty in maintaining discipline below stairs.

b: 2 Nov 75 w: Jeremy Paul d: Simon Langton

rc: Georgina Worsley, Trooper Frederick Norton

The French Ambassador and his wife are due to dine at Eaton Place. With Virginia now away, it is left to Georgina to play hostess. When Hudson is taken ill the night before the dinner party, an understudy is needed below stairs as well.

b: 9 Nov 75 w: Jeremy Paul d: James Ormerod

rc: Lady Prudence Fairfax, Georgina Worsley, Trooper Frederick Norton

Georgina's friendship with a wild society girl leads to an ugly scene when she introduces Georgina to a film producer. Frederick leaves Eaton Place.

b: 16 Nov 75 w: Alfred Shaughnessy d: Christopher Hodson

rc: Georgina Worsley

When Richard borrows a fishing lodge in the Highlands, the servants at Eaton Place suffer an atmosphere which brings James's feelings for Georgina to a head. Meanwhile, Hudson investigates strange behavior in the Highlands.

b: 23 Nov 75 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Bill Bain

rc: Georgina Worsley, Virginia Bellamy, Sir Geoffrey Dillon

Georgina's renewed association with a group of irresponsible young socialites leads to a tragic accident and a serious family row.

b: 30 Nov 75 w: Rosemary Anne Sisson d: Bill Bain

rc: Georgina Worsley

Georgina falls in love with one of her new admirers, Robert Stockbridge. But his social position and family background make their future happiness uncertain. Downstairs a new maid begins work.

b: 7 Dec 75 w: John Hawkesworth d: Cyril Coke

rc: Virginia Bellamy, Georgina Worsley

James returns from America stricken with share fever and a renewed enthusiasm and hope for the future. But events change the course of his life when he invests all of Rose's money in the stock-market.

b: 14 Dec 75 w: Jeremy Paul d: Simon Langton

rc: Georgina Worsley, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Virginia Bellamy, Lady Prudence Fairfax

James's death throws everyone into turmoil, especially Georgina. Eaton Place is to be sold to help pay off some of James's creditors.

b: 21 Dec 75 w: John Hawkesworth d: Bill Bain