Upstairs, Downstairs
Out of costume
After UpDown 4 – reunions
Here are the other cast reunions that have taken place:
Upstairs, Downstairs Farewell – A Million Dollar Party (aka The Boston Tea Party). The
cast gathered in May 1977 (a whole 16 months after the last episode aired in the UK) to celebrate the screening of the final episode
on PBS. See my Documentaries page for further description and a picture gallery.
Those involved: Simon Williams, Christopher Beeny (Edward), Jacqueline Tong, Rachel Gurney, Meg Wynn Owen (Hazel), Raymond Huntley
(Sir Geoffrey Dillon), Gareth Hunt (Frederick), Hannah Gordon (Virginia), Joan Benham (Lady Prudence), Anthony Andrews (Marquis
of Stockbridge), Jean Marsh (Rose/co-creator), and on film from London, Jenny Tomasin and Nicola Pagett.
Night Of 100 Stars. In late 1980, the cast gathered as part of a show where old stars of (mainly)
ITV programmes made appearances (out of character) in various guises. The UpDown cast were in a segment called "A Tribute
To Television Artists". Does anybody know if they did anything else other than walk on and bow to the camera (which is all I remember)?
Those involved: Joan Benham, David Langton, Ian Ogilvy (Lawrence Kirbridge), Rachel Gurney, Simon Williams, Patsy Smart, Jenny
Tomasin, Christopher Beeny and Gordon Jackson.
TV Times photoshoot. See picture and comment above.
TV Times photoshoot? There was, so I am told, a second TV Times UD photoshoot featuring the characters from Seasons Three and Four. As with the first, this was to tie in with Channel 4's repeats of those two seasons.
LWT's 21st anniversary. In July 1989, the cast took part in a live interview, chaired by Gloria Hunniford,
from the South Bank to celebrate 21 years of London Weekend. Richard Marson, in his Upstairs, Downstairs book comments:
"Sadly, much of the event was a shambles and the on-screen reunion amounted to a few minutes of rushed and inconsequential
chat." See further down this page for some grabs.
Those involved: Gordon Jackson, David Langton, Pauline Collins, John Alderton, Chris Beeny, Jenny Tomasin, and by satellite, Jean
Marsh.
Upstairs, Downstairs Remembered. In May 1996 the cast gathered for a photoshoot to tie in with
Richard Marson's documentary. Evin Crowley appeared in the photos but was not in the documentary, and Jackie Tong, who was in
the documentary, wasn't at the photoshoot. See below for a photo, and my Documentaries page for further description and a gallery
of grabs.
Those involved: Jean Marsh, Evin Crowley (Emily), Meg Wynn Owen, Simon Williams, Gareth Hunt, Nicola Pagett, Jenny Tomasin and
Christopher Beeny.
After Upstairs, Downstairs. In July 2002, another TV documentary reunited the cast. See my Documentaries
page for further description and a gallery of grabs, and there are also some more pictures on the The house 1 page, and below.
Those involved: Jacqueline Tong, Jenny Tomasin, Meg Wynn Owen, Simon Williams, Lesley-Anne Down (Georgina), Gareth Hunt, Hannah
Gordon and Jean Marsh.
Happy Birthday BAFTA. To celebrate 50 years of the BAFTA awards, some of the original cast took
to the stage to briefly reminisce about UD. Despite pre-publicity indicating that scenes from the original series were
to be re-enacted, the reunion ended up being nothing more than a few seconds of rather stagey and embarrassed pieces to camera
using well-worn anecdotes about the show. Having said that, it was very nice to see Pauline Collins and John Alderton once more
associating themselves with the series. The event took place on Sunday 28th October 2007 with a TV transmission following on 7th
November. See below for a group photo, and my Videos page for a clip.
Those involved: Christopher Beeny, Jacqueline Tong, Simon Williams, Pauline Collins, John Alderton, Jean Marsh, Meg Wynn Owen,
Lesley-Anne Down and Jenny Tomasin.