1971: 'Upstairs, Downstairs' Makes its British Debut
October 10, 2020
| By TV WW
On this day in 1971, the British drama series Upstairs, Downstairs debuted on Britian's ITV. Conceived by actresses Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, the series focused on the occupants of London's 165 Eaton Place — the wealthy Bellamy family that resided in the townhouse, and their servants — from 1903 to 1930. In the U.S. the series ran on PBS under the Masterpiece Theatre banner from 1974 to 1977.
Upstairs, Downstairs won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1974, 1975 and 1977. (And, in a category change, the series won "Outstanding Limited Series" in 1976.)
In 2010, the BBC revived the popular series as three one-hour episodes, with the "new" Upstairs, Downstairs set in 1936 (six years after the original show ended). Six additional one-hour episodes made up a second season. Marsh and Atkins starred in the first three episodes; Marsh alone returned for the show's second, six-episode run.
The revival made its U.S. debut on Masterpiece Classic in April, 2011.