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Airdate: Upstairs Downstairs

UKTV premieres the Upstairs Downstairs revival which aired in the UK last December.

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Next month UKTV premieres the Upstairs Downstairs revival which aired in the UK last December.

The original series was enormously successful and critically acclaimed when it ran from 1971 to 1975.

The new series is not a continuation of the original story but a return to the concept and the place.  Whilst many reviews claimed it didn’t match the original series it still got the thumbs up.

With an all star cast, it airs as three specials.

In the summer of 1930, the Bellamy family left its home in London’s Belgravia forever. In the empty house, loyal house-parlourmaid Rose Buck reflected on its ghosts, its history, the loves and lives it had contained. Closing the door for the final time, she walked away – and left a piece of her heart behind her.

In 1936, a twist of fate brings Rose back to 165 Eaton Place, as housekeeper to its new owners, Sir Hallam and Lady Agnes Holland, who arrive from Washington following Hallam’s tenure in diplomatic service. But in the years leading up to the Second World War, times are changing and servants are no longer cheap and obedient; Rose soon finds she has her work cut out. Meanwhile, in the wider world, Edward VIII has ascended the throne, fascism is on the rise, and Europe is inching towards catastrophe.

There is a clear divide between the elegance and finery of the ‘upstairs’ world and the workaday quarters inhabited by the ‘downstairs’ characters, but in both worlds, it soon becomes apparent there lies a labyrinth of secrets, lies and scandal.

This new series provides an evolving take on the master-servant relationship in keeping with the social morals of the 1930s. With lavish visuals, gripping storylines and a stellar cast, the stage is set for a highly sublime viewing experience.

Starring: Dame Eileen Atkins (Gosford Park; Cranford), Keeley Hawes (Ashes to Ashes; Mutual Friends; Identity), Ed Stoppard (Empire; The Pianist; Brideshead Revisited), Claire Foy (Little Dorrit; Going Postal), Jean Marsh (Sense & Sensibility; Crooked House), Anne Reid (Five Days; Bleak House), Art Malik (Ben Hur; Holby City), Neil Jackson (Flashforward; Blade; CSI), Adrian Scarborough (Cranford; Psychoville; Gavin & Stacey), Helen Bradbury (Lennon Naked) Ellie Kendrick (The Diary of Anne; Waking the Dead, Doctors).

It premieres 8:30pm Saturday June 11 on UKTV.

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  1. There were a few ideas re. spin offs to follow Upstairs and Downstairs only one was made Thomas & Sarah. Thanks David for the article, I’ll be watching on the 11th June.
    Some of the elder actors from the original series were alive between 1910 and 1930 knew what it was like living in those times, should be interesting how this cast represents the time of 1936.

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