Upstairs, Downstairs is a British television drama series created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, and developed by Alfred Shaughnessy for London Weekend Television. The series consists of 68 hour-long episodes that aired in Great Britain on ITV from 1971 to 1975 and in the United States as part of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS from 1974 to 1977. It was eventually broadcast in over 70 countries to an audience of over one billion viewers.
The series is set during the period 1903–1930 and takes place largely in the London town house of the Bellamy family. The "upstairs" and "downstairs" of the title refers to, respectively, the Bellamys and their servants. The first season introduced David Langton as Richard Bellamy, Rachel Gurney as his wife, Marjorie, Nicola Pagett as their daughter, Elizabeth, and Simon Williams as their son, James. The household servants were Gordon Jackson as Angus Hudson (the butler), Angela Baddeley as Mrs Bridges (the cook), Jean Marsh as Rose Buck (the head maid), Pauline Collins as Sarah Moffat (maid), Patsy Smart as Maude Roberts (Mrs. Bellamy’s personal maid), Christopher Beeny as Edward (first servant), and George Innes as Alfred (the footman). In the second series Jenny Tomasin was introduced as Ruby (a kitchen/scullery maid) and George Innes was replaced by John Alderton as Thomas Watkins. Alderton and Pauline Collins later played their characters in a spin-off series, Thomas and Sarah.