"Upstairs, Downstairs" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 66 out of 68 people found the following review useful: Goosey goosey gander, wither shall I wander? Upstairs anddownstairs and in my lady's chamber... from London 3 July 2001 It is a widely held belief that Upstairs Downstairs was television at its finest, and the most popular tv drama in the world. But why precisely is so good? It is almost entirely studio bound and looks like it should be just another worthy but squeaky clean period drama. This is why it is very hard to convince anyone unfamiliar with the series of why it is so special. But John Hawkesworth, the producer, believed television was electronic theatre, not second rate film, and this allows the stories to concentrate on words, emotions and intense acting. The grittiness of the series, the performances and its skill at depicting human emotions were its chief assets. Gordon Jackson's magnificent character performance as Hudson is a display of a modest, warm actor who made a character who stood for all he disliked totally loveable.

David Langton's charming, liberal Richard Bellamy was a far less snobbish and severe man than his butler, but his first wife, the statuesque Lady Marjorie certainly made up for him. Simon Williams' portrayal of Lord Lucan lookalike James Bellamy showed real development over the years, the haughty, caddish son who is changed forever by the war and plays his final episode "All The King's Horses" nothing short of brilliantly. Lesley Anne-Down and Jacqueline Tong's introduction, the Christmas story "Goodwill To All Men" in many ways sums the series up, combining a devastating look at the London poor with the escapist charm of a traditional Edwardian Christmas, leading to a bittersweet conclusion offering an idyllic scene of Georgina being giving her presents as the snow falls outside, just after her grandmother's wise observation that her outing to help the needy was more out of a need for adventure than real charity. If the first season was the series finding its feet and the second was it settling down to more of the same, the third season is the oddest of them all.

It reflects a period of change both in pre-war Britain and behind the scenes, as Elizabeth and Lady Marjorie were both written out at the actors' requests. This leaves the upstairs structure of the house unsettled, and the series is dark and sombre, as James' doomed marriage and Richard's bereavement make the house seem a far cry from the high society gatherings and royal dinners of the early seasons. Although the fourth series, which depicts the war years so powerfully is considered the best, I would personally dispute this. Good as it is, what is most interestiung is the fifth series, as Britain's social structure is collapsing, and the full impact of the war is felt. The roarring twenties try to blot out the horrors of the trenches but leave James and many like him haunted, directionless, forgotten and despairing. The fifth series also introduces a new wife for Richard in the form of the delectable Hannah Gordon. Her interpretation of Virginia is a joy to watch; beautiful, witty and poetic.

The daring storylines provide all the characters with moments to shine in, from Lady Marjorie's adultery in the excellent "Magic Casements" which deals unconventionally with an age-old theme, to the heartbreaking "I Dies From Love" which details the suicide of a kitchen maid. The sexual attitudes of the day were explored in "A Suitable Marriage", the bleak "A Cry For Help" and the astonishing "Whom God Hath Joined." Some of the wildest plotlines should not have worked but did, such as Hudson's hopeless affair with a parlour maid in "Disillusion" and Mrs Bridges' breakdown in "Why Is Her Door Locked?" There are really only two unsuccessful episodes of the entire sixty eight, but many masterpieces. "The Glorious Dead" and "Another Year" are devastating essays on the tragedies of the war, and "Distant Thunder" is a superbly claustrophobic episode, as war looms both in the household and in Europe. "The Sudden Storm" ends the third season with war declared, Daisy crying with the fear of what is to come while the rest of the world seems to be celebrating.

The final episode, "Wither Shall I Wander" ended the series marvellously, with a perfect mixture of the happy and the sad. The pomp of Georgina's wedding allows a diversion from the sale of the house and the loss of James. Hudson delivers a tremendous speech to Edward on the tradition of service now dying out, and one can't help but be swept along with the fever of the episode. The final scene, as Rose is left alone in the house with the ghosts of the past echoing around her, is both a fine depictuion of the sentimentality of leaving a lifestyle behind and a cunning wallow in nostalgia. The like of Upstairs Downstairs will never be seen again. This type of television, like the England it depicted, is gone forvever. Was the above review useful to you? 26 out of 27 people found the following review useful: The Perfect Time Machine from Germany 6 October 2005 Probably the best TV series ever! For someone Anglophile like me it is the perfect time machine to enter a typical household of the Victorian/Edwardian era. Although it shows an "upper class" household, the focus is on the "downstairs" personnel.

The problems and stories of the kitchen maidens, footmen etc are much more colorful and sympathetic than the actions of "her ladyship" and Lord Bellamy upstairs. Nevertheless absolutely all characters are designed thoroughly, sympathetic and authentic. Furthermore this series shows a sort of real "theater" which has left TV long time ago and will never appear again! Long close-ups which show the affection of every actor, long dialogs with full sentences and - long pauses between them to enable the actors and the viewer to reflect everything. In addition the fine set design, the costumes, the "funny stuff" around, for example an early - hand-crafted! - vacuum-cleaner! Another extraordinary fact is the combination of fictional characters with real history: Everything finds its way into the story, the death of Queen Victoria, the Titanic Disaster, WW I, the Spanish Influenza, Wall Street and so on. A period of nearly 30 years is described, and with the last episode you are crying, just because you wish to know how everything will continue... But, that was a lack of this absolutely brilliant series: The main characters hardly age during the decades! Butler Hudson and cook Mrs.

Bridges for example are already "old people" in the first episode, playing 1901. In the last episode - 1929 - they have not changed in any way, they even plan to "start a new life", running a small guest-house. After having seen it in German TV, where several episodes are not shown, I bought the complete DVD edition and can only recommend this to everyone! Was the above review useful to you? 24 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Still pure magic......... from Blaenafon, Gwent 3 September 2003 Having first watched this series as a mere boy of 10 years in the early 70's, it is indeed a pleasure to see it being repeated on UK cable TV as I write. To me, it has lost none of it's charm and appeal, particularly the richness of characters, characters which were allowed to develop fully over the period it was screened. If you haven't seen this, make an effort to do so - it was and is one of the most beautifully written and acted British drama series to grace the screen. Was the above review useful to you?

21 out of 23 people found the following review useful: The Best Drama Ever on Television from Brooklyn NY 27 July 1999 It wasn't a huge budget that made this series great, immensely popular, much honored, and the biggest hit in PBS history. It was the fabulous writing and the rich characterizations presented to us every week. All these people we cared about, even negatively in the case of James. And that's why even now there is a U/D web site. Interwoven were the historical events of Edwardian England stretching through World War One into the Twenties. The series reached it's peak halfway through the war with "Women Shall Not Weep" - a magnificent episode available on video. By the Twenties the upper class was cracking more than the lower - a theme of the series. U/D was such a hit America tried its own hand at the wealthy/servants scenario with "Beacon Hill" - highly touted but dismally written flop. Special credits to Jean Marsh as Rose (who never found happiness, but wouldn't have been happy anyplace but the world she was brought up in!); Marsh also was a creator of the series. It was an absolute joy. P.S.

In case the credits don't reflect this, Daisy's last name was 'Peel". Was the above review useful to you? 21 out of 24 people found the following review useful: an Edwardian soap opera from United Kingdom 9 July 2005 Set from pre-World War I to the late 1920s, this series ran for five years and was a cornerstone of ITV drama in the UK. Co-created by Jean Marsh and debuting in good old black and white, before moving into colour, 'Upstairs, Downstairs' remains the best (and the soapiest) drama of above and below stairs. Too many people in the cast to mention, but kudos should go to David Langton, who played Richard Bellamy throughout, to the two Lady Bellamys, Rachel Gurney and Hannah Gordon, to Simon Williams and Nicola Pagett as James and Elizabeth, and Lesley Anne Down as Georgina. Below stairs there were three key characters - Gordon Jackson as Hudson the butler, Angela Baddeley as Mrs Bridges the cook (a character so famous she had her own range of biscuits and preserves for many years), and Jean Marsh as Rose, the house-parlourmaid.

I also remember Karen Dotrice as Lily, Jacqueline Tong as Daisy, John Alderton and Pauline Collins as Thomas and Sarah (who got their own spin-off series), and Christopher Beeny as Edward. Full of drama - the Titanic disaster, debt collectors, intrigue and affairs, and of course the obligatory conflict between ranks, this series had it all. It enjoyed several repeat runs on TV and now has a new life on DVD, well-deserved. Highly recommended if you've never seen it; if you have you don't need convincing. Was the above review useful to you? 15 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Classy, intelligent, and engrossing Edwardian era drama 2 April 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** This is the best dramatic series ever produced in Britain or aired on PBS. It chronicles life at 165 Eaton Place, depicting the personal lives of the aristocratic Bellamy family above stairs and their servants below. Actual historical events are incorporated into the story, including the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, the General Strike, and the Wall Street Crash.

It paints a vivid portrait of the discrepancy in social status of those in service as compared with their wealthy, titled employers. Nevertheless, we see the loyalty and affection these servants frequently have to the family they serve. The master of the household is Richard Bellamy, a Conservative Member of Parliament and clergyman's son who married above his station in life. He is a man of both professional and personal integrity, whose political views sometimes come into conflict with his wife's titled family, the Southwolds. His wife, Lady Marjorie, is the Earl of Southwold's daughter, an elegant and gracious lady, the very epitome of poise, who can handle any situation with admirable aplomb. Their tall, dark, and handsome son and heir, Captain James Bellamy, is transformed from a haughty, aimless cad to a wounded, anguished officer devastated by war. Really, much of the series is a depiction of James's struggle to "find himself". The spoiled and rebellious daughter, Elizabeth, disdains the debutante life expected of her, opting instead for charitable and feminist causes, frequently setting the household into a stir. Eventually she makes an ill fated match with the poet Lawrence Kirbridge.

The middle class comes into play when James marries his father's stately, radiant, and dignified secretary Hazel, a kind and giving individual who is neglected and rejected by her husband in favour of his step-cousin, Georgina Worsley. Georgina is a stunning but absolutely self absorbed creature, initially engrossed with the social whirl of her own season. Her sole redeeming behaviour is her wartime nursing but alas, she follows it up with a decade of partying, cigarette holder in one hand and cocktail in the other. After the untimely death of Lady Marjorie on the Titanic, the genuine chemistry at Eaton Place is between Hazel and her father-in-law Richard, who hold the fort together while James is off soldiering. Later Richard marries a Scottish widow, Virginia Hamilton, a rather willful individual I never much took to. She lacks both Lady Marjorie's grace and Hazel's earnest integrity, making an uninteresting lady of the manor when compared with her two predecessors. Once again 165 is home to children after Virginia moves in with her two young offspring, Alice and William.

Frequent upstairs visitors include Lady Prudence, Lady Marjorie's loyal and outspoken friend, the most overbearing creature on earth and provider of comic relief, and Sir Geoffrey Dillon, the Southwold family solicitor. I quite enjoyed the character of this harbinger of financial gloom and discrete maker of "arrangements" to cover up the frequent family scandals. Downstairs the servants form a family unto themselves at their own kitchen table, with Mr. Hudson presiding in state at its head. Hudson is the stern Scottish butler who takes pride in the Bellamy family upstairs, manages their household efficiently, and puts the other servants in their proper place when necessary. The cook, Mrs. Bridges, is queen of her own domain, the kitchen. She can be maternal, but is generally in fine scolding fettle, always in a huff over some outrage, culinary or otherwise, and shouting at her poor scullery maid. Rose, the longtime parlourmaid, is one of the real stars of the entire series. We see much of life at "good old 165" through her eyes. She is such a kind, hard working, and loyal soul and deserving of so much better than life in service offers.

She longs for a husband and children of her own, and has her own ill fated romance with Australian sheep farmer Gregory Wilmot. There's also the blossoming romance and marriage between the vulnerable housemaid, Daisy, and her footman, Edward. During the series, we witness Edward's progress from cheeky young footman to shell shocked soldier to struggling unemployed husband to new chauffeur to butler-in-training. Various other servants come and go from 165 Eaton Place, including the feisty, brazen Sarah who both causes trouble in the household and induces it upon herself; the crafty chauffeur Thomas; Lady Marjorie's aloof and snooty personal maid Roberts; the deranged footman Alfred and the smug one Frederick; the naive parlourmaid Lily; the embittered governess Miss Treadwell; the tragic Irish scullery maid Emily and her later replacement, poor dear Ruby. Upstairs Downstairs depicts society galas, country house weekends, and an elegant dinner party fit literally for a king. It features five series, which can be divided into three groups based upon who is mistress of the household. Series 1-2 with Lady Marjorie involves almost a scandal an episode!

Series 3-4 sees Hazel as the new mistress and casts a darker, more serious tone with her marital difficulties and all the drama of the Great War. The final Series 5 features Richard's new wife Virginia, Georgina's flapper years, and focus on James's post war wanderings. The characters do not age during the thirty or so years spanned by the series, from the latter Victorian era to the Roaring Twenties. It's an absolutely magnificent series that boasts both wonderful screen writing and acting, as well as authentic period costumes and decor. It flawlessly captures a past era, contrasts graphically its titled and servant class distinctions, and involves the viewer emotionally in the fate of its characters, both those above and those below stairs. Was the above review useful to you? 14 out of 15 people found the following review useful: the finest thing that has ever been on television from New York, United States 15 June 2006 My wife and I are just starting the fifth and last season. Last fall we started going through all the episodes on DVD in order. We do around 3 per week. I never saw the series in the 1970s, though I heard of it.

Some time in the mid 80s the local PBS station in New York showed most of them in order, a couple per week. I was absolutely enthralled. It's been about 20 years so we decided to have another look. They absolutely stand up well. Better than well. I will emphatically repeat the judgment I made twenty years ago: this series is the finest thing that has ever been on television. Yes, I know, you can't compare "apples and oranges" like that. I suppose the single ONE best thing that's ever been on television (in the sense of a one day or briefer event) in my experience was the moon landing in July 1969. Still, in spite of that, all in all, if I had to pick, Upstairs-Downstairs is the best PROGRAM that has ever been on television. Far and away. If you are new to it, I envy you. I am already mourning the last episode, which I will see again in a few weeks at most. My only consolation is that in twenty years, I can watch it all again. Was the above review useful to you?

9 out of 11 people found the following review useful: The best TV drama series, ever, period. Author: bw92116 20 December 2009 No other television drama made in any country has equaled or surpassed this one in quality from the beginning to the end of the series. Interesting and relevant themes, historical background, outstanding writing, plots, characters, sets, direction, acting, photography, editing - every aspect is executed brilliantly and and so well that you don't even notice them. And yet it's more than just the sum of those elements - it's a complete package that is compelling and unforgettable. What else can you say? This is a milestone in television production. If you haven't seen it, you're missing a major event in television history. Get the entire series, and watch all 68 episodes, in order. You will never forget this show. Was the above review useful to you? 9 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Upstairs Downstairs from Canada 15 May 2005 I would just like to say that Upstairs Downstairs has got to be one of my most favorite British Soaps of all time.

It's such a shame that it had to end. The era is fascinating to me, and I really enjoyed the way the servants interacted with each other and the occupants of the household. The story lines were believable, as were the characters. And when the Titanic was mentioned as the cause of death to the first Mrs. Bellamy, it brought a sense of reality to the show. The whole premise of the show was brilliant, because I'm sure that was the ways it really was in those days. What with the class distinctions and all. Over all I truly enjoyed the entire production. Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: "What are we going to do with Uncle Arthur?" 25 August 2008 *** This review may contain spoilers *** 'Upstairs, Downstairs' was the surprise television drama hit of 1971 despite originally going out late on Sunday nights with very little fanfare. The Edwardian drama was the brainchild of actresses Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, inspired by the immense popularity of the B.B.C.'s 'The Forsyte Saga'.

Set at 165 Eaton Place, it told of the lives of the Bellamy family and their servants. Marsh played 'Rose Buck', the ever so-prim head parlour maid, with Atkins earmarked for 'Sarah a.k.a. Clemence', the cheeky Cockney girl who brings scandal and shame to the Bellamy household. When she proved unavailable, Pauline Collins ( fresh from the first series of 'The Liver Birds' ) replaced her. With all due respect to Atkins, its impossible now to think of 'Sarah' being played by anyone else. I loved the way she stood up for herself, dreamt constantly of a better life, and gave as good as she got. Gordon Jackson played the strict Scottish butler 'Angus Hudson', with Angela Baddeley as 'Mrs.Bridges', who ruled her kitchen with a rolling pin of iron. Tory M.P. 'Richard Bellamy' ( David Langton ) seemed a decent man. In addition to him, there was his elegant wife 'Lady Marjorie' ( Rachel Gurney ), their caddish son James ( Simon Williams ) and wayward daughter Elisabeth ( Nicola Pagett ).

When not working, the servants used to discuss what was going on upstairs, such as James' money troubles ( 'A Pair Of Exiles' ) or The King coming to dinner ( 'Guest Of Honour' ) or Miss Lizzie marrying an impotent poet ( 'For Love Of Love' ). One of the strongest episodes was 'I Dies From Love' in which Irish scullery maid Emily ( Evin Crowley ) hanged herself after being cast aside by a footman. To add insult to injury, we then found out that her body had been earmarked for medical experimentation despite her Catholic upbringing. There was no equality in those days even in death. Other servants were cheeky footman 'Edward', played by Christopher Beeny, and Jenny Tomasin as dimwitted scullery maid 'Ruby'. John Alderton came aboard in the second season as chauffeur 'Thomas Watkins', a fairly straight character to begin with, but who then evolved into a devious con-artist - witness his fleecing of the Bellamy's when a blackmailer came on the scene with Lady Marjorie's love letters to Captain Hammond ( David Kernan ). Thomas and Sarah later got their own show.

Poor Lady Marjorie went down on the Titanic ( funny how James Cameron never mentioned this ) at the start of Season 2. Her replacement was the tasty Meg Wynn Owen as 'Hazel Forrest', Richard's secretary. Elisabeth's successor was 'Miss Georgina Worsley' ( Lesley-Anne Down ), a vacuous deb who eventually enlisted as a nurse during The Great War. One of the great things about 'Updown' was that, as well as being top-notch drama, you got a history lesson as well. The Great War episodes were fabulous. One of the most moving scenes ever shown on television was when Edward came back from the trenches with shell-shock. Full credit should go to script-editor Alfred Shaughnessy and producer John Hawksworth, who both took all the major creative decisions. The wonderful Strauss-like theme tune was by Alexander Faris. 'Updown' caught on in America, despite five Season 1 episodes being omitted due to being made in black and white. The Americans attempted their own version, the unsuccessful 'Beacon Hill'. After five seasons, 'Updown' ended in 1975.

A lengthy repeat run then followed, and 'Guest Of Honour' was chosen as part of I.T.V.'s 'Best Of British' season in 1982. It is presently to be found on I.T.V.-3. Sagitta Productions moved to the B.B.C. in 1976, where they did the equally popular 'The Duchess Of Duke Street'. 'The Two Ronnies' did an 'Updown' parody, as did Stanley Baxter ( filmed on the same sets used in the show! ), the 'Carry On' team spoofed it in two editions of 'Carry On Laughing', and it inspired Jimmy Perry & David Croft's last sitcom 'You Rang Milord?'. Perhaps the most inane spin-off was 'Russell Harty Goes Upstairs, Downstairs' in which the late chat-show host was seen dropping in on the residents of Eaton Place for tea and a chat. Forty years after it first appeared, 'Updown' remains compelling, powerful ( it tackled difficult subjects such as homosexuality, adultery, suicide, mental breakdown, and the aftermath of war ), sometimes humorous, always entertaining viewing. in 2010, the B.B.C.

revived 'Updown' with Jean Marsh reprising her role as 'Rose' and a new family at Eaton Place. Despite it boasting superior production values, it failed to grab the imagination the way the original did, and was axed two years later. T.V. bosses would do well to take a long hard look at the original in order to learn how to do a show of this kind. It managed to pull in big audiences without insulting anyone's intelligence. Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 3: BBC's Upstairs Downstairs recipes from the original TV series are as irresistible today | Daily Mail Online comments If the BBC’s new series of Upstairs Downstairs has left you hungering for the 1970s original, blame the food. Part of the joy of the Edwardian drama was drooling over the extravagant creations of cook Mrs Bridges. Fast-forward to 1936, and the new ruler of the kitchen at 165 Eaton Place, Mrs Thackeray, is dishing up grapefruit halves for breakfast.

Culinary excellence: Part of the joy of the Edwardian drama was drooling over the extravagant creations of cook Mrs Bridges, played by Angela Baddeley She clearly doesn’t have her predecessor’s dedication to the culinary arts. After a party at which the family found themselves entertaining a Nazi instead of the King, she lamented the wasted effort expended on canapés. ‘I would never have bothered with all those crimped edges,’ she grumbled, ‘if I’d known some German was going to eat them all.’ RELATED ARTICLES For Mrs Bridges, culinary excellence rather than politics was paramount. After all, the Edwardian era was the last great hurrah for English cookery. Within a few years, rationing (imposed during both world wars) would wreak havoc on British tastebuds and also on our gastronomic reputation throughout the world. Until then, this was a period of excess verging on gluttony. A cook for a great house was in her kitchen before 7am, preparing breakfast, both for staff and her masters. Upstairs, the eating could go on until 10.30am, with eggs, bacon, ham, sausages, kidneys and fish in silver dishes, kept hot with spirit lamps.

Today¿s chefs would struggle to equal Mrs Bridges' output (pictured with Mr Hudson, Gordon Jackson) without a modern oven, food processor or microwave On another sideboard there would be cold meats – ham, tongue, and roast fowls – and yet another table would be heaped with fruit. Not forgetting, of course, toast, scones and jam, pots of coffee, tea and various cold drinks. Even a middle-class household would expect porridge, eggs and bacon, kedgeree, coffee, tea, toast and marmalade. The Edwardian diet was not only excessive but unhealthy, based largely on meat and starch. Vegetables were regarded as medicinal – Mrs Bridges would have been amazed by the fruits and vegetables available to us. She would also have been appalled by the meat. Especially the lack of mutton. Today, it is almost impossible to find; we think of mutton as inferior to lamb, probably because of the tough old animals that were dished up during World War II. The Edwardians knew better. They appreciated the sweetness of lamb, but much preferred the meat of a sheep that was five years old, enjoying its rich, dark, almost gamey taste.

An Edwardian cook would be expected to know the different cuts of mutton and the common varieties of sheep, the difference in the taste between a Berkshire, a Chinese and a Cumberland pig, and how to recognise a good piece of beef. DID YOU KNOW... Angela Baddeley, who player Mrs Bridges, was awarded a CBE in 1975. 'The Queen asked me about the show,' Angela recalled later, 'and I said "How do you like it?" 'She smiled and said, "It is greatly enjoyed."' Perhaps because the meat was so flavoursome, the Edwardian cooking process tended to be simple. Joints, chops and steaks were roasted or grilled, and served with buttered boiled vegetables. And then came pudding. When Cassell’s Shilling Cookery was published in 1910, it gave recipes for 370 of them. It was common to name a new invention after a major event: the annexing of Ashanti in the Gold Coast in 1901, or victory in the battle of the Alma in the Crimea (Chicken Asquith is named after Prime Minister Herbert Asquith).

Queen of Puddings is probably so-called because Queen Victoria once enjoyed a helping. As well as feeding her employers and their guests, the Edwardian cook would have catered separately for the numerous staff who kept the mansion running. Hence the idea for the Mrs Bridges Upstairs Downstairs Cookery Book, a spin-off from the original series. Each category is divided into ‘upstairs’ (largely French-inspired) and ‘downstairs’ (British) recipes. Interestingly, the downstairs recipes seem rather more palatable to modern tastes, though today’s chefs would struggle to equal the output of a real Mrs Bridges – all without the benefit of a modern oven, food processor or microwave.

Jenny Tomasin: Actress best known for 'Upstairs, Downstairs' | The Independent Jenny Tomasin: Actress best known for 'Upstairs, Downstairs' Friday 27 January 2012 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Tomasin, front right, with the cast of Upstairs, Downstairs in 1973 Rex Features The role of Ruby Finch, the dim-witted, put-upon scullery maid in Upstairs, Downstairs forever dreaming of running away with Rudolph Valentino, brought Jenny Tomasin fame worldwide. The familiar cry of "Oh, Ruby!" from the Bellamy household's cook, Mrs Bridges, in response to the accident-prone servant's clumsiness, was perhaps the closest the saga came to having a catchphrase. Tomasin joined the programme for just one episode in its second series, in 1972, but her portrayal of the downtrodden Ruby was so admired that she was kept on until Upstairs, Downstairs ended three years later.

She was seen "downstairs" alongside others including Angela Baddeley as the grumpy but warm-hearted Mrs Bridges, George Jackson as the dour butler Hudson, Jean Marsh as the pivotal housemaid Rose and Pauline Collins as the day-dreaming parlour maid Sarah in the drama set at 165 Eaton Place, London, against a background of events from the Edwardian era and First World War to the General Strike and Wall Street Crash. In typical fashion, Ruby once shocked her fellow servants by announcing that she was leaving for a job in a munitions factory, only for it to be blown up with her inside. She took the long walk back to Belgravia, her face blackened, and was reinstated. The programme was Britain's most successful period drama of the 1970s, watched by 300 million people in 50 countries, including the US, where it won seven Emmys. When it ended, Tomasin felt a big hole had been left in her life and compared it to bereavement. Plans for Ruby to join Hudson and Mrs Bridges in a sequel, running a seaside boarding-house, were abandoned following Baddeley's death. However, Ruby was a double-edged sword.

The character was popular but frequently described as "TV's ugly duckling" and, Tomasin believed, left her typecast as maids, restricting her future career, while "upstairs" stars such as Simon Williams and Lesley-Anne Down saw their careers soar. "I had to wear these drab outfits and no make-up," she recalled in the 2002 television documentary After Upstairs, Downstairs. "There was one particular incident when I was out with my boyfriend for a meal. I was feeling sexy and attractive, and suddenly somebody yelled out, 'Oh, look, there's Ruby!' I looked at my boyfriend and said, 'I don't want to stay here.' It just felt awful." Born in Leeds in 1936, Tomasin had childhood ambitions to act or write. Despite her parents' objections, she broke into acting and appeared on stage until she made her screen début in 1972 as a Young Conservative whose parents try to marry her off to the fraudulent Australian of the title (Barry Crocker) in The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, a film written by Barry Humphries (who played Aunt Edna Everage) and the director Bruce Beresford.

Before she finished her run as Ruby, Tomasin took the carbon-copy role of a waitress, Florence Baker, in the motel-set soap opera Crossroads, which she played on and off from 1974-79. There were also one-off appearances in The Dick Emery Show (1976), The Onedin Line (1977) and the sitcom That's My Boy (1985), as well as the small part of Mrs Simmons in the little-seen film Mister Quilp (1975), based on The Old Curiosity Shop. Tomasin also acted one of the child mill workers in later episodes of Midnight is a Place (1977-78). After she played Naomi Tolly, whose farmer father died in a tractor accident, in Emmerdale Farm (1980-81) and Tasambeker, "ex-ter-min-ated" by the Time Lord's nemeses in the 1985 Doctor Who story "Revelation of the Daleks", Tomasin's appearances became rarer.

She took the role of a traffic warden in the 1990 film Just Ask for Diamond and was typecast as a maidservant in a BBC adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit (1994) and the cook in Beeban Kidron's television film of Cinderella (2000). On stage and back to type, Tomasin played a parlour maid in a West End production of Man and Superman (Theatre Royal, Haymarket, 1982), starring Peter O'Toole, with the cast reprising their performances in a television film version the same year. She was also in pantomimes and national tours of Blithe Spirit (1988-89), as Edith, the maid, Lettice and Lovage (1990-91) and The Marquise (2004), in which she acted Kate O'Mara's devoted maid.

Tomasin believed her television career might be experiencing a revival when she returned to Emmerdale (as the serial was retitled in 1989) in the role of Noreen Bell (2005-06), a cantankerous, palm-reading, wig-wearing pensioner whose garden fence was painted by Val Lambert as part of a community service order. Noreen became friends with Val but died in a gas explosion while looking round a show home. It was Tomasin's last screen role, but the character's legacy lives on. The money bequeathed by Noreen to Val enabled her to buy a half-share in The Woolpack pub, where last orders are called with the Noreen Bell bell. However, Tomasin – who never married – always remained optimistic that more work would come along. As she said in 2002: "I've been through such hard times, but I can always bounce back again. I still believe great things are just ahead." Anthony Hayward Jenny Tomasin, actress: born Leeds 30 November 1936; died London c. 12 January 2012.

More about: Attention: Fans of the original Upstairs, Downstairs: Death of Ruby Follow DL on Attention: Fans of the original Upstairs, Downstairs: Death of Ruby I noticed that, sadly, Jenny Tomasin, who played Ruby in Upstairs, Downstairs, died in Jsnuary of this year at age 73 from heart disease. No immediate survivors. Always had a soft spot for "poor Ruby". May she rest in peace. She is now "up there" with Mrs. Bridges! Not sure if this was ever brought up before in the DataLounge. by Anonymous reply 13 04/03/2012 Ol' Ruby turned out to be pretty sharp in the end when she went off to work in the guest house Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Bridges were buying: "Well, they can't live forever, can they?" by Anonymous reply 2 04/01/2012 Wow, I hadn't heard the news. I didn't realize she was that old. I don't know she did much after the show ended. I saw here in a couple of documentaries on the show and she looked pretty lost.

Who's left from the show now? by Anonymous reply 3 04/01/2012 Jenny Tomasin, who played put-upon kitchen-maid Ruby in the original show, has died of heart disease – apparently sometime around January 3rd. She was 75 (Equity says 73), and was found dead at her flat in Camden, London where she lived alone, a week or so later. by Anonymous 04/01/2012 from the same site: Cast in a minor role as the accident-prone scullery maid, Ruby Finch, in the drama Upstairs Downstairs, Jenny Tomasin often stole the scene. Depicting an Edwardian aristocratic family living in a townhouse in Belgravia, waited on by a selection of servants, Upstairs Downstairs became so popular that a spin-off was planned. Tomasin was to play Ruby again, but this time helping to run a seaside boarding house with her two colleagues, Angela Baddeley, who had portrayed the cook, Mrs Bridges, and Gordon Jackson, who had been the butler, Angus Hudson. But plans for the series were scrapped when Baddeley died.

Thereafter, Tomasin seemed destined to play maids - in Crossroads, in Philip Kingâs farce, See How They Run, at Greenwich, and in two Coward comedies, Blithe Spirit and The Marquise. She was born into a working class family, who at the outset showed little interest in her career. Money was short and Tomasin had to sell her books of Green Shield saving stamps to pay the fare to the audition for Upstairs Downstairs. She joined the cast for the second series and remained an integral part of life below stairs until the end of the fifth series in 1975, taking part in 41 episodes in all. By then, the show had won seven Emmy awards, two Baftas and was being shown in 70 countries. Tomasin found it difficult to come to terms with the end of the series. âI felt that I belonged to a wonderful, happy family - and then all of a sudden the family broke up,â she said in a newspaper interview.

âIt was terribly hard to adjust.â In 1985, she appeared in Doctor Who and also played two characters in Emmerdale, one in 1980, the other in 2006. Both were killed off. Jenny Tomasin, who was born on March 22, 1938, died on January 3, aged 73. â¢ A funeral service will take place on Thursday, February 9 at 3pm, Islingon and Camden Cemetery, 278 High Road, East Finchley, London N2 9AG. â¢ Simon Williams writes: On Upstairs Downstairs we all had to surrender to the charge of being typecast - but of all the characters it was Jennyâs adorable, doe-eyed Ruby, the scullery maid who stole the nationâs heart. While the rest of us were being primped and preened in the make-up room, Jennyâs face was scrubbed clean and her hair left unwashed. She had no vanity. She was a modest, generous, instinctive and dedicated actress.

When I last telephoned Jenny, her voicemail message told me that if it was about work âIâm freeâ¦â And I hope she is, God bless her. by Anonymous reply 5 04/01/2012 On stage and back to type, Tomasin played a parlour maid in a West End production of Man and Superman (Theatre Royal, Haymarket, 1982), starring Peter O'Toole, with the cast reprising their performances in a television film version the same year. She was also in pantomimes and national tours of Blithe Spirit (1988-89), as Edith, the maid, Lettice and Lovage (1990-91) and The Marquise (2004), in which she acted Kate O'Mara's devoted maid.

Tomasin believed her television career might be experiencing a revival when she returned to Emmerdale (as the serial was retitled in 1989) in the role of Noreen Bell (2005-06), a cantankerous, palm-reading, wig-wearing pensioner whose garden fence was painted by Val Lambert as part of a community service order. Noreen became friends with Val but died in a gas explosion while looking round a show home. It was Tomasin's last screen role, but the character's legacy lives on. The money bequeathed by Noreen to Val enabled her to buy a half-share in The Woolpack pub, where last orders are called with the Noreen Bell bell. However, Tomasin â who never married â always remained optimistic that more work would come along. As she said in 2002: "I've been through such hard times, but I can always bounce back again.

I still believe great things are just ahead." Anthony Hayward 04/01/2012 from the Washington Post: Jenny Tomasin, a British actress forever known to hundreds of millions of television viewers as the clumsy, disheveled, Valentino-obsessed kitchen maid Ruby Finch in âUpstairs, Downstairs,â has died at her home in London. She died Jan. 3 of hypertensive heart disease, according to the coronerâs office in her neighborhood. She was 73, according to the membership records officer for the actorâs union Equity in Great Britain. Other reference guides put her age at 75. She had no immediate survivors, delaying confirmation of her death. Jenny Tomasin, a British actress forever known to hundreds of millions of television viewers as the clumsy, disheveled, Valentino-obsessed kitchen maid Ruby Finch â shown at bottom â in "Upstairs, Downstairs," has died at her home in London.

âUpstairs, Downstairs,â one of the most beloved and literate television dramas of all time, chronicled the decline of a British aristocratic family and the fate of their servants from the Edwardian era through World War I, the Jazz Age and the stock market crash of 1929. The program was produced between 1970 and 1975, drew audiences worldwide and has endured in public television reruns. It had a direct influence on films including Robert Altmanâs âGosford Parkâ (2001) and shows such as âDownton Abbey,â now airing on public television. âUpstairs, Downstairsâ was celebrated for its finely drawn portrait of the British class system â including the hierarchy of servants. Although Conservative politician Richard Bellamy (David Langton) was the master upstairs at the fictional 165 Eaton Place in Londonâs Belgravia neighborhood, downstairs was the domain of the formidable head butler Hudson (Gordon Jackson) and the tyrannical cook Mrs. Bridges (Angela Baddeley).

Ruby â gray-faced, thatchy-haired and hopeless in the kitchen â was distinctly at the bottom of the social ladder. Few who saw the series will fail to remember Mrs. Bridges taking pity on the âpoor girlâ but also erupting in her trademark bellow, âRoo-BEEE!â Ms. Tomasin joined the show in 1972 after another scullery maid committed suicide. During World War I, the maladroit Ruby leaves for a short-lived job in a munitions factory. Having left Eaton Place proud of her independence, Ruby returns blackened when the plant explodes. In interviews, Ms. Tomasin said she was devastated when her career plummeted after the success of âUpstairs, Downstairs.â She appeared in small roles in Londonâs West End and in touring productions. There was a melancholy consistency to her sporadic television work. She twice appeared on the British soap opera âEmmerdaleâ â in the early 1980s and in the mid-2000s â and each time, her character was killed off.

Jenny Tomasin was born in Leeds, in northern England, on March 22, 1938, according to the actorsâ union. Other reference works say she was born on Nov. 30, 1936, with no explanation for the discrepancy of day, month and year. She said her parents, who were working-class, were unsupportive of her ambition to act. She had a middling career until âUpstairs, Downstairsâ producer John Hawkesworth exclaimed on seeing her photo in a British casting directory, âThatâs the face!â Ms. Tomasin appeared in reunion documentaries of âUpstairs, Downstairs,â often noting with mixed feelings how the show affected her life. âI had to wear these drab outfits and no makeup,â she said in a 2002 documentary, according to the London Independent. âThere was one particular incident when I was out with my boyfriend for a meal.

I was feeling sexy and attractive, and suddenly somebody yelled out, âOh, look, thereâs Ruby!â I looked at my boyfriend and said, âI donât want to stay here.â It just felt awful.â Staff writer Emily Langer contributed to this report. by Anonymous After 32 years, the surviving stars of Upstairs, Downstairs ...and what happened next By LAURA ROBERTS Last updated at 08:11 30 October 2007 It transfixed millions of viewers in the 1970s. Portraying the social niceties and sexual scandals of Edwardian England, Upstairs, Downstairs became one of the most successful TV series of all time, watched by 300 million viewers in 50 countries. It ran for 68 episodes on ITV from 1971 to 1975. Although a number of the cast have died - including Gareth Hunt, Gordon Jackson and Angela Baddeley - nine of the originals attended Bafta's 60th birthday celebrations on Sunday.

by Anonymous reply 12 04/03/2012 Ruby was such a clumsy ditz. The one kitchen maid from Downton Abbey always reminds me of Ruby with her 'but that's not wright!' tagline. by Anonymous For ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ fans, ‘Downton’ brings a case of déjà vu - The Boston Globe By Loren King Globe Correspondent January 02, 2014 Gordon Jackson and Angela Baddeley in “Upstairs, Downstairs.” Mrs. Patmore was the last straw. During the much ballyhooed season 3 finale of “Downton Abbey,” the feisty cook fell for a purveyor who turned out to be a louche womanizer lusting for Mrs. Patmore only for her food. After a humiliating carnival outing, it fell to stolid head housekeeper Mrs. Hughes to break the news to her friend. Sound familiar? Fans of the original “Upstairs Downstairs,” the BBC series that ran from 1971 to 1975, might remember that in season three, feisty cook Mrs. Bridges fell for purveyor Albert Lyons.

During the servants’ seaside outing, Lyons got drunk in a pub and let on that he was only interested in Mrs. Bridges for her cooking. It fell to erstwhile butler Hudson to break the news to his friend. Advertisement While “Downton” took us into the trenches of World War I, “Upstairs Downstairs” earned much of its reputation for the season that was set during the Great War. Without a single battle scene (owing to budget constraints), “Upstairs Downstairs” showed the harrowing effect of the war above and below stairs. Officer James Bellamy came home in a wheelchair enraged about the waste of life at the Somme and later committed suicide. In “Downton,” officer Matthew Crawley also came home unable to walk — the result of a spine injury that left him, in his words, “an impotent cripple.” But, in true soap form, he soon recovered on both counts. James’s inconvenient wife, Hazel, became gravely ill with what turned out to be Spanish influenza. Matthew’s inconvenient fiancée, Lavinia, also died of the flu. “Upstairs Downstairs” head butler Hudson threw the house into a tailspin when he suffered a heart attack.

He was tenderly nursed by his longtime colleague Mrs. Bridges. In season 2 of “Downton Abbey,” head butler Carson suffers an apparent heat attack and is nursed by Mrs. Hughes, revealing Carson’s true feelings for his longtime colleague. While James was at the front, Hazel befriended Jack Dyson, a young airman who, like her, had risen from the middle class. The day before Jack returned to the front, he left a note for Hazel, calling her his “only girl in the world,” which was also the title of the episode. With Matthew missing (just as James was missing, then returned injured), the Crawleys put on a concert for the soldiers convalescing at Downton Abbey. The song that Lady Mary sings, of all things, is “If You Were the Only Girl in the World.” Giles Keyte/Carnival Films Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan in “Downton Abbey.” When Mrs. Patmore had vision trouble, Lord Grantham sent her to London to have cataract surgery. In “Upstairs Downstairs,” Mrs. Bridges was having trouble reading recipes and blaming her young apprentice for it.

Hudson eventually brought this to her ladyship’s attention; Mrs. Bridges was sent to be examined and fitted with spectacles. In the second season of “Downton,” we learned that Lavinia stole evidence that tied her uncle to the famous 1912 Marconi scandal and sold it to Lord Grantham. This minor plot echoed an “Upstairs Downstairs” episode (“Word of Honor”) in which Richard Bellamy was accused of using insider information when he bought shares in a company set to be awarded a government contract. One of the most unusual episodes of “Upstairs Downstairs” had Rose secretly hide Alfred, a former footman who was on the run after killing his homosexual lover. The episode turned into a thriller when desperate Alfred took a hostage until the police captured him. At Downton, Thomas’s homosexuality is an open secret among the staff — at a time when homosexuality was a punishable offense in Britain. His nighttime ambush of Jimmy raised a few hackles but everything was smoothed over by benevolent Lord Grantham, who told the police it was all a mistake, promoted Thomas, and all but vowed to start a Yorkshire PFLAG chapter.

“Upstairs Downstairs” was notable for a tighter focus on the servants, who were more wise to the ways of their “betters,” as Hudson would say, than the Bellamys were about them. “Downton Abbey” seems to give equal time to characters above and below stairs, particularly because “Downton” can boast the Dowager Countess of Grantham, played to perfection by the great Maggie Smith. But this scene-stealer owes more to the actress playing her than to any great conception or development — acerbic one-liners notwithstanding. As the perfect marriage of actress and role, however, “Upstairs Downstairs” had Rose Buck. It was Rose, played by series co-creator Jean Marsh, who brought the curtain down on it in 1975. She stood alone in empty 165 Eaton Place, a witness to the changes of history, just as we’d witnessed her growth from parlor maid to ladies’ maid to the heart and soul of the series. It was a masterful moment. As “Downton Abbey” rolls out its much-anticipated new season, it may continue to raid and repurpose “Upstairs Downstairs.” But it can’t replicate it.

Loren King can be reached at loren.king@comcast.net. Loading comments... Upstairs, Downstairs is back with a new cast | Daily Mail Online comments The Ashes To Ashes’ actress stars as the sexy chatelaine of Eaton Place, parlour maid Rose in charge below stairs... plus a storyline set in the 1930s that’s ‘shot through with sensuality’ She has already travelled to the Eighties as Ashes To Ashes’ DI Alex Drake – now actress Keeley Hawes is heading even further back in time for an updated revival of classic period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. The 34-year-old leads a stellar cast for the lavish new series, set in pre-war London and promising a plot ‘shot through with sensuality’. Originally, the show was a hit for ITV in the early Seventies, but it is the BBC that is reviving it, with the help of American backers. Lady of the house: The beautiful and ambitious Lady Agnes Holland, played by Keeley Hawes (right), will be responsible for the running of 165 Eaton Place – just like her predecessor, the imperious Lady Marjorie Bellamy.

Lady Marjorie, who was played by Rachel Gurney (left), had an affair with an Army officer in 1906 and lost her life on the Titanic six years later. Ms Gurney, who went on to enjoy success on Broadway, died in Norfolk in 2001, aged 81 Art Malik, Anne Reid and Ed Stoppard are also among the distinguished cast, while Jean Marsh is to revive her role as Rose Buck, originally a lowly parlour maid but now elevated to housekeeper. She is the only character from the original series to return. There is also a part for Dame Eileen Atkins, who first came up with the idea for the Seventies series with Ms Marsh, and now plays the formidable matriarch of the aristocratic family who move in ‘upstairs’ at 165 Eaton Place. In the new series, which takes up the story six years after the original left off in 1930, Rose makes an emotional comeback to the London townhouse to serve the new family, under the steely Lady Agnes Holland. Played by Ms Hawes, the lady of the house is described as ‘fragrant but ass-kicking’.

Writer Heidi Thomas, who also scripted the successful BBC’s drama Cranford, said: ‘The series will be shot through with sensuality. This is a drama very much about warm-blooded human beings. ‘In a house like Eaton Place, there is a limit to what you can keep behind closed doors. The place is a pressure cooker and the tensions continue to rise and rise until they boil over. ‘Whether the characters are upstairs or downstairs they are ­living in close proximity to each other and these are the dramas that will engage viewers.’ The original series, which was broadcast between 1971 and 1975, charted the lives and loves of the Bellamy family and their servants in the first 30 years of the last century. Key characters below stairs included loyal butler Hudson, played by Gordon Jackson, who went on to star as George Cowley in The Professionals, and the ­autocratic cook Mrs Bridges, played by Angela Baddeley. Thomas said: ‘When people hear you are bringing Upstairs, Downstairs back, they sort of stop breathing for a moment because they love the ­programme so much.

‘Everyone involved in the new version is very much aware of that feeling and they have an extraordinary desire to do it justice. ‘The original ended rather abruptly and there was a feeling the story had not run its full course. People quite rightly felt there was years’ more drama to go.’ The BBC is certainly confident of success. At first a series of three hour-long shows was commissioned for a Sunday-night slot – but the ­corporation has believed to have ordered another six scripts. And a full-scale replica of Eaton Place has been built at studios in Cardiff by producers eager to avoid ­criticisms of cheap sets and limited locations that were levelled at the nonetheless much-loved original. In the new series, set against the drama of the 1936 abdication crisis, the house has been inherited by the wealthy Sir Hallam Holland, a young and well-connected diplomat, ­following the unexpected death of his Baronet father. Holland, who is played by 35-year-old Ed Stoppard, the son of playwright Sir Tom, takes up residence with his wife and his imposing mother Lady Maud, a free-thinking intellectual played by Dame Eileen who keeps a pet monkey called Solomon.

Art Malik plays Lady Maud’s brooding private secretary Mr Amanjit, brought over from her ­previous residence in India and now struggling to find a place in a ­household where he is considered ­neither upstairs nor downstairs. The new butler Pritchard, played by theatre actor Adrian Scarborough, is described as a complex character who is ‘a very different kettle of fish’ from the stern Hudson. The way they were: A scene from the original series, starring Angela Baddeley as Mrs Bridges and Gordon Jackson as Hudson The younger servants include a spirited parlour maid called Ivy, played by 20-year-old Ellie Kendrick, best known for taking the title role in the BBC’s mini-series The Diary Of Anne Frank last year, and a ­footman called Johnny, played by 19-year-old ­Hollyoaks star Nico Mirallegro. Meanwhile Rose commands the staff with the aid of the fastidious Mrs Thackery, played by veteran Dinnerladies star Anne Reid. The new series, which begins filming next month, is being jointly funded by the American TV drama producer Masterpiece, and will be broadcast in the US shortly after it makes its British debut.

The original was not just a hit in the States, but was broadcast in more than 70 countries to an audience of more than a billion. The BBC is planning to screen the drama as early as autumn in an attempt to steal the thunder from a new ITV drama called Downton Abbey, which also focuses on the lives of masters and servants in a single home. Piers Wenger, head of drama at BBC Wales where the series is being made, said: ‘We are delighted to have secured the rights to Upstairs, Downstairs with the full blessing and support of the original co-creators. ‘This is not a remake but a ­completely new version, set in a different era with a whole new cast of characters.’

Question: Who played the part of the cook 'Mrs Bridges', in the TV series 'Upstairs, Downstairs'?
Answer: ANGELA BADDELEY