Upstairs, Downstairs - Season Four

The fourth season of Upstairs, Downstairs deals with the years of The Great War, 1914-18, and is usually singled out as the strongest of the five series. This series is more "soap" oriented than previously and ideally requires viewers to have seen the previous episodes in the season.

The budget did not stretch to anything as elaborate as battle scenes, so the various war jobs held by the members of the household are used to relate the experiences of the conflict. Location work is scarce but is very well mounted, such as the scenes of a hospital train arriving at Charing Cross in Women shall not Weep. We also get to see the field hospital in France where Georgina is working as a nurse - this is the furthest that the series ever got from 165 Eaton Place.

The acting is, as ever, top rank and it is impossible to single out any performance, regular or guest, that is substandard. Particular set pieces which remain in the mind: Hudson's dramatic reading to the other servants of an article from the newspaper about the sinking of the Lusitania (The Beastly Hun); James' angst-ridden outpouring to Hazel about the loss of life during the war (The Glorious Dead); Mrs Bridges relating to the bereaved Rose a doomed tale of romance from her youth (The Glorious Dead); Edward being revisited by his front line experiences during noisy celebrations at New Year (Another Year); and the unexpected and cool revelation by Richard Bellamy to Rose of Hazel's death from flu (Peace out of Pain). Just when the series is in danger of becoming too downbeat, we get a lighter episode, The Hero's Farewell, which sees Lady Prudence putting on a series of charity tableaux at 165 (with Ruby starring in "The Rape of Belgium"!)

Only the episode News from the Front is slightly below par, being somewhat slower and less dramatic than the other twelve segments, but this is a small complaint.

As in the previous year, at the Emmys Angela Baddeley was again nominated for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress. Also nominated was Jean Marsh for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series. The season won in the category for Outstanding Limited Series.

Most plot synopses are taken directly from the original issues of the TV Times. In addition to the listed writer/s, it should be assumed that the script-editor, Alfred Shaughnessy, also had story input into each episode to a greater or lesser extent. Shaughnessy's own scripts were edited by John Hawkesworth, the producer. All episodes (except A Suitable Marriage) were story-lined by Shaughnessy.

Factfiles have been added for each episode. These detail character backgrounds, continuity points, and bloopers. Click on the

icon on the left of each episode's entry.

All timings are for the UK DVDs of the show as released by Network. These will vary slightly on other releases of the show. Timings are given as mm'ss". All the Factfiile notes are drawn from what was actually shown on the screen - additional or contradictory material from the novelisations (etc) is not included. To print a Factfile, press CTRL-P. Any comments/additions for the Factfiles, please email me.

Regular cast: Jacqueline Tong (Daisy), Angela Baddeley (Mrs Bridges), Gordon Jackson (Hudson), David Langton (Richard Bellamy), Jean Marsh (Rose), Meg Wynn Owen (Hazel Bellamy), Christopher Beeny (Edward), Lesley-Anne Down (Georgina Worsley), Jenny Tomasin (Ruby), Simon Williams (James Bellamy), Joan Benham (Lady Prudence Fairfax), Mel Churcher (Angela Barclay), Hannah Gordon (Virginia Hamilton), Raymond Huntley (Sir Geoffrey Dillon), Barrie Cookson (Colonel Buchanan), Christopher Good (Capt./Major Philip Hanning), Joyce Heron (Lady Berkhamstead), Celia Imrie (Jenny), Patricia Macrae (Sister Menzies)

A Patriotic Offering
4.1 (40)
UK: 14 September 1974
US: 4 January 1976

Studio rec: 3 April 1974 (1/13)
Cert:

For the Bellamy household, both above and below stairs, the world is fast becoming a different place: The Great War, which is to change for ever the face of British society, 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.

Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
Designer: Roger Hall
Director: Derek Bennett
Regular cast: Hudson, Mrs Bridges, Rose, Richard Bellamy, Hazel Bellamy, Lady Prudence Fairfax, Lady Berkhamstead, Georgina Worsley, Edward, Daisy, Ruby
Guest cast: Elma Soiron (Madame Huguot), Karen Glaser (Madame Chargon), Cyril Cross (Monsieur Chargon), Lala Lloyd (Mrs Hollins), Ian Hoare (Jean-Paul), Lisa Moss (Celestine)

News from the Front
4.2 (41)
UK: 21 September 1974
US: 11 January 1976

Studio rec: 19 April 1974 (2/13)
Location: 8 April 1974
Cert:

James Bellamy, on leave from the Western Front, finds himself drawn into a political intrigue that will affect his future role in 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.

Writer: John Hawkesworth
Designer: Colin Pigott
Director: Derek Bennett
Regular cast: Mrs Bridges, Hudson, Hazel Bellamy, James Bellamy, Richard Bellamy, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Edward, Daisy, Ruby, Colonel Buchanan
Guest cast: Edward Underdown (General Nesfield), Miles Bennett (The Telegraph Boy), Ena Baga (Kinema Pianist)

This episode had a working title of Straight from the Horse's Mouth.

The Beastly Hun
4.3 (42)
UK: 28 September 1974
US: 18 January 1976

Studio rec: 3 May 1974 (3/13)
Cert:

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 and his family are found to be of German origin. Hazel is alarmed to discover that Hudson has been spreading scare stories around the servants' hall and displaying an exaggerated hatred of Germans because he is unable to help in the war effort directly.

Writer: Jeremy Paul
Designer: John Emery
Director: Bill Bain
Regular cast: Hudson, Georgina Worsley, Hazel Bellamy, Rose, Mrs Bridges, Richard Bellamy, Ruby, Daisy
Guest cast: Timothy Peters (Lt. Dennis Kemp), Gertan Klauber (Albert Schoenfeld), Freda Dowie (Maria Schoenfeld), Robert Swann (Medical Officer), Giles Watling (2nd Lt. James Marriott), Keith Jayne (Wilfred Schoenfeld)

Women shall not Weep
4.4 (43)
UK: 5 October 1974
US: 25 January 1976

Studio rec: 17 May 1974 (4/13)
Location: 12 May 1974
Cert:

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

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
Designer: Roger Hall
Director: Christopher Hodson
Regular cast: Hudson, Richard Bellamy, James Bellamy, Georgina, Rose, Mrs Bridges, Edward, Daisy, Ruby, Angela Barclay
Guest cast: Neville Barber (Brigadier General Temple), Dennis Blanch (Private Wallace), James Woolley (Capt. Martin Andrews), Edward Hammond (2nd Lt. Harry Gurney), Barbara Atkinson (Mrs Galloway), Kevin Moran (The Sergeant), Mike Fields (The Wounded Soldier)

Tug of War
4.5 (44)
UK: 12 October 1974
US: 1 February 1976

Studio rec: 31 May 1974 (5/13)
Cert:

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...

Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
Designer: John Emery
Director: Derek Bennett
Regular cast: Hazel Bellamy, Georgina, Rose, Richard Bellamy, Hudson, Mrs Bridges, Daisy, James Bellamy, Colonel Buchanan, Angela Barclay, Capt. Philip Hanning
Guest cast: Valerie Lush (Matron), Betty England (Mrs Carbury), Betty Romaine (Mrs Blaine), Polly Williams (Lady Violet Courtney)^*, Richenda Carey (Head Nurse)

^* This character is credited as "Violet" at the end of the episode, but is called "Viola" within the episode and in TV Times.

Home Fires
4.6 (45)
UK: 19 October 1974
US: 8 February 1976

Studio rec: 28* June 1974 (7/13)
(*some sources say 26)
Location: 17 June 1974
Cert:

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.

Writer: Jeremy Paul
Designer: John Emery
Director: Bill Bain
Regular cast: Hudson, Rose, Richard Bellamy, Hazel Bellamy, Lady Prudence Fairfax, Daisy
Guest cast: Keith Barron (Gregory Wilmot), Auriol Smith (Mrs Lorimer), John Lyons (Charlie), Julia Sutton (Dorothy Matthews^*), Robert McBain (Hamish Matthews^*) [Uncredited: Audrey Joyce (Mrs Ganton)]

^* Note the spelling of Matthews here compared with the credits of A Perfect Stranger in Season Three.

If You Were The Only Girl In The World
4.7 (46)
UK: 26 October 1974
US: 15 February 1976

Studio rec: 13 June 1974 (6/13)
Location: 3 & 18 June 1974
Cert:

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

Writer: John Hawkesworth
Designer: Roger Hall
Director: Raymond Menmuir
Regular cast: Hudson, Rose, Hazel Bellamy, Lady Prudence Fairfax, Lady Berkhamstead, Georgina, James Bellamy, Daisy, Angela Barclay, Jenny, Sister Menzies
Guest cast: Andrew Ray (Lt. Jack Dyson R.F.C.), Neville Hughes (Lt. Cmdr. Rupert Machin), Richard Owens (Lt. Bowman), Venetia Maxwell (Mrs Vowles), Sarah Twist (Lucy), Brian Nolan (Man), Kenneth MacDonald (Soldier), William Ashley (Patron)

The Glorious Dead
4.8 (47)
UK: 2 November 1974
US: 22 February 1976

Studio rec: 12 July 1974 (8/13)
Cert:

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 is harbouring her own fears for her young airman.

Writers: [Alfred Shaughnessy and] Elizabeth Jane Howard^*
Designer: Roger Hall
Director: Raymond Menmuir
Regular cast: Mrs Bridges, Hudson, Rose, Hazel Bellamy, James Bellamy, Daisy
Guest cast: Eileen Way (Madame Francini), Helena McCarthy (Mrs Speedwell), Graham Leaman (Mr Price)

^*Script-editor Alfred Shaughnessy largely rewrote Howard's script.

Another Year
4.9 (48)
UK: 9 November 1974
US: 29 February 1976

Studio rec: 26 July 1974 (9/13)
Cert:

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

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
Designer: John Emery
Director: Cyril Coke
Regular cast: Rose, Mrs Bridges, Hudson, Hazel Bellamy, Virginia Hamilton, Richard Bellamy, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, Edward, Daisy, Ruby
Guest cast: none

The Hero's Farewell
4.10 (49)
UK: 16 November 1974
US: 7 March 1976

Studio rec: 9 August 1974 (10/13)
Cert:

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

Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
Designer: Roger Hall
Director: Bill Bain
Regular cast: Hudson, Lady Prudence Fairfax, Mrs Bridges, Rose, Richard Bellamy, Georgina Worsley, Edward, Daisy, Ruby, Major Philip Hanning
Guest cast: Robin Bailey (Gerald Maitland), Phyllida Law (Lady Constance Weir), Fanny Rowe (Duchess of Mitcham), Alfred Maron (Carpenter)

Missing Believed Killed
4.11 (50)
UK: 23 November 1974
US: 14 March 1976

Studio rec: 23 August 1974 (11/13)
Location: 13 August 1974
Cert:

For weeks all at 165 Eaton Place have been living under a cloud of uncertainty - is James Bellamy, posted missing at Passchendaele, alive or dead? Then his batman, Norton, returns from France with James' 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...

Writer: Jeremy Paul
Designer: Roger Hall
Director: Christopher Hodson
Regular cast: Hazel Bellamy, Rose, Mrs Bridges, Richard Bellamy, Georgina Worsley, James Bellamy, Edward, Ruby, Daisy, Sister Menzies, Jenny
Guest cast: Gareth Hunt (Trooper Norton), Brian Badcoe (Surgeon Major Rice), Ann Martin (Nurse Wilkins)

Facing Fearful Odds
4.12 (51)
UK: 30 November 1974
US: 21 March 1976

Studio rec: 6 September 1974 (12/13)
Cert:

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

Writer: John Hawkesworth
Designer: John Emery
Director: Raymond Menmuir
Regular cast: Hudson, Mrs Bridges, Richard Bellamy, Hazel Bellamy, Virginia Hamilton, Sir Geoffrey Dillon, James Bellamy, Edward, Daisy, Ruby
Guest cast: Richard Reeves (Michael Hamilton), Hilary Minster (Lieut. Lightfoot RN.), Laurence Harrington (Chief Petty Officer Webb), Anthony Nash (President of the Court), Peter Whitaker (Judge Advocate)

Peace out of Pain
4.13 (52)
UK: 7 December 1974
US: 28 March 1976

Studio rec: 20 September 1974 (13/13)
Cert:

All the members of the Bellamy household are at home again as the Great War comes to a close. Richard proposes to Virginia Hamilton, with whom he has fallen in love. James, still weak and recovering at home from his war wounds, is not at first told when Hazel becomes seriously ill with a flu virus...

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
Designer: John Emery
Director: Christopher Hodson
Regular cast: Rose, Hudson, Georgina Worsley, James Bellamy, Hazel Bellamy, Richard Bellamy, Mrs Bridges, Virginia Hamilton, Edward, Daisy, Ruby
Guest cast: Anthony Woodruff (Dr Foley)