Upstairs, Downstairs
Out of costume
During UpDown 2

Jenny Tomasin out of her of Ruby guise. "I feel the series might have limited me," says Tomasin. "There are a lot of strong woman parts I could have played, which nobody would see me as." Jenny died in 2012.

A sexy publicity photo of Jacqueline Tong (Daisy) from the mid-1970s.

What on earth? Why is Thomas the chauffeur at 165 locked in an embrace with the future Lady Bellamy? Never fear, you haven't missed an episode... John Alderton and Hannah Gordon both starred in My Wife Next Door, a 13-episode BBC sitcom broadcast in late 1972. The 1970s churned out numerous comedies based on the same sort of theme. In this one, married couple Alderton and Gordon get divorced and move apart. And, yep, you've guessed it from the title – they unwittingly end up moving in next door to each other.

Hannah Gordon in May 1977 when she attended PBS' grand farewell party for Upstairs, Downstairs in Boston – quite a difference from her on-screen role as Lady Virginia Bellamy! In UpDown, Hannah was one of the few stars playing a character older than herself – when she first appeared as Virginia she was only 33 years old.

Jenny Tomasin, Freddy Shaughnessy, Karen Dotrice, Angela Baddeley and Jean Marsh on the set of an early Season Five episode.

Jean Marsh drops in on Alistair Cooke during an American publicly trip for Upstairs, Downstairs. Cooke top-and-tailed all the original broadcasts of the show in the US. These little packages of background info – delivered from a leather chair in front of a bookcase – became closely associated with the show in the States.

Lesley-Anne Down and Jacqueline Tong in civvies during their early time on the show.

Evin Crowley played maid Emily in the first season. She was the earliest tragic character in the show and was gone by the eighth episode. Aside from Upstairs, Downstairs, she is best known for her BAFTA-nominated portrayal of "mischief-making hussy" Moureen in the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter, and as Biddy Hall in the 1975 Australian mini-series about outlaw Ben Hall.

Move up to previous entryMove down to next entry