9.2/10112 votesLoading...#1 - All the King's Horses
Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 12/14/1975
James returns to England, with new found vigor and untold wealth, on the eve of the October 1929 stock market crash.
Director: Simon Langton
Writer: Jeremy Paul
- 9.2/10111 votesLoading...
#2 - Whither Shall I Wander?
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 12/21/1975
After nearly 30 years, the Bellamy saga ends with the sale of 165 Eaton Place and a fresh beginning for every member of the household.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: John Hawkesworth
- 8.7/10126 votesLoading...
#3 - A House Divided
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 11/3/1973
News of the Titanic disaster arrives at Eaton Place, and the entire household anxiously await word of Lady Marjorie's fate.
Director: Christopher Hodson
Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
- 8.7/10104 votesLoading...
#4 - Another Year
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 11/9/1974
This difficult year finally comes to bumpy close. Helen and Richard meet Mrs. Charles Hamilton who wants Richard to help get her pet project off the ground. Edward is home on leave but all is not well. A bombing in London brings a familiar face back to Eaton Place.
Director: Cyril Coke
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.6/10164 votesLoading...
#5 - I Dies from Love
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 1/30/1972
April 1907: Believing destiny brought them together, Emily, the scruffy kitchen maid, falls deeply and hopelessly in love with a footman named William. When his mistress, Mrs. Van Groeben, learns about his relationship with Emily, she angrily orders William to stop seeing her, leaving Emily heartbroken and driven to an act of desperation.
Director: Raymond Menmuir
Writer: Charlotte Bingham, Terence Brady
- 8.6/10105 votesLoading...
#6 - The Sudden Storm
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 1/19/1974
A downstairs dalliance and a happy outing to a seaside resort divert the staff as war looms on the European continent.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: John Hawkesworth
- 8.5/10126 votesLoading...
#7 - Guest of Honour
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 11/17/1972
There is great excitement among the servants when King Edward VII attends a supper party at Eaton Place. During the evening the arrival of an unexpected visitor creates an emergency below stairs.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.5/10108 votesLoading...
#8 - The Glorious Dead
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 11/2/1974
Sadly, perhaps inevitably, a double dose of tragic news arrives for those at Eaton Place.
Director: Raymond Menmuir
Writer: Elizabeth Jane Howard
- 8.5/1092 votesLoading...
#9 - Peace Out of Pain
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 12/7/1974
Rose receives excellent news, James is depressed about his slow recovery, Richard is courting Virginia, and the Great War is winding down to a victorious conclusion, but there's still one more casualty to be claimed.
Director: Christopher Hodson
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.4/10107 votesLoading...
#10 - A Family Gathering
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 1/19/1973
Elizabeth's affair with Julius is over, James returns to England with his fiancée, Phyllis, and a major event marks the end of an era.
Director: Raymond Menmuir
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.4/10105 votesLoading...
#11 - Distant Thunder
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/1974
The disparity between James' and Hazel's background is cut wide open when Hazel suffers a miscarriage.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.4/1093 votesLoading...
#12 - Joke Over
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 11/30/1975
After an evening of dissipated behavior and a reckless drive into the countryside, Georgina must appear at a coroner's inquest, when one of the locals is killed.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
- 8.4/1089 votesLoading...
#13 - Noblesse Oblige
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 12/7/1975
Better the devil you know than the one you don't is the lesson Mrs. Bridges and Ruby learn after a terrible row. Upstairs, Lord Stockbridge proposes to Georgina, but there's a catch.
Director: Cyril Coke
Writer: John Hawkesworth
- 8.3/10137 votesLoading...
#14 - Why is Her Door Locked?
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 2/6/1972
November 1907: Everyone's been concerned about Mrs. Bridges, who's been despondent ever since Emily's suicide, but when they discover she took a baby from his pram when his mother wasn't looking, and brought him home with her, they realize she's suffering from a mental breakdown. Hoping to keep the incident quiet and protect everyone's reputations, the Bellamys return the baby to his parents and offer compensation, but refuse to divulge Mrs. Bridges' identity. The father, furious that they consider themselves above the law, has Mrs. Bridges arrested and during her hearing, Hudson makes an extraordinary gesture he hopes will keep her out of prison.
Director: Brian Parker
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.3/10111 votesLoading...
#15 - Goodwill to All Men
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 12/22/1973
It's Christmas 1913 and two young ladies, one from upstairs and the new parlor maid, conspire to spread holiday cheer to the less fortunate.
Director: Christopher Hodson
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.3/1086 votesLoading...
#16 - The Understudy
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 11/9/1975
On the eve of an important dinner party for a French diplomat, Hudson suffers a heart attack.
Director: James Ormerod
Writer: Jeremy Paul
- 8.2/10153 votesLoading...
#17 - Magic Casements
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 1/23/1972
Summer 1906: Captain Hammond, a handsome young friend of James', graciously agrees to escort Lady Marjorie to the opera. Feeling a strong mutual attraction, they quickly realize how compatible they are, despite the age difference, Abuzz with gossip, the servants seem to be the only ones aware of what's going on.
Director: Joan Kemp-Welch
Writer: John Hawkesworth
- 8.2/10107 votesLoading...
#18 - The Fruits of Love
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 1/5/1973
The Bellamys are in shock when they learn that Eaton Place, which is part of the Southwold estate, must be sold in order to satisfy the terms of the deceased Lord Southwold's will. Adding to their worries is news of Elizabeth's involvement with Julius Karekin, a man they strongly disapprove of, but in the end, the relationship proves very beneficial.
Director: Christopher Hodson
Writer: John Hawkesworth
- 8.2/10126 votesLoading...
#19 - Miss Forrest
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 10/27/1973
In the spring of 1912, Lady Marjorie prepares to visit Elizabeth in New York and James takes an interest in Richard's comely and respectable new secretary, Miss Forrest.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.2/10113 votesLoading...
#20 - A Change of Scene
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 11/10/1973
James' weekend visit to Somerby Park, with Hudson in tow as his valet, presents an opportunity for both to appreciate their beloved Eaton Place and what they've left behind there.
Director: Bill Bain
Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
- 8.1/10148 votesLoading...
#21 - A Suitable Marriage
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/1971
December 1905: Elizabeth falls for a young German baron, whom her father is suspicious of. Richard quickly uncovers the Baron's secret, but as it turns out, Baron Klaus von Rimmer is hiding another secret, which Rose accidentally stumbles upon. The events of the evening compel one of the servants to betray not only the family, but the country as well.
Director: Joan Kemp-Welch
Writer: Jeremy Paul
- 8.1/10138 votesLoading...
#22 - A Cry for Help
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/14/1971
October 1906: Mary, the new housemaid confides in Richard that she's pregnant, the result of an assault by a man who drunkenly forced himself on her. Insisting he must bear responsibility, she reveals the man is Myles Radford, the son of Richard's friend (and her previous employer), General Radford. Myles, outraged that Richard has the gall to question his integrity, gets even with a classless move that could have enormous legal, financial, and moral ramifications.
Director: Derek Bennett
Writer: Julian Bond
- 8.1/10117 votesLoading...
#23 - A Pair of Exiles
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/28/1972
Sarah tells James she's having his baby and the Bellamys make provisions to avoid a major scandal.
Director: Cyril Coke
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
- 8.1/1099 votesLoading...
#24 - The Wages of Sin
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 1/12/1973
Sarah is pregnant with Watkins' baby and Lady Marjorie has run out of patience with both of them.
Director: Christopher Hodson
Writer: Anthony Skene
- 8.1/10103 votesLoading...
#25 - A Family Secret
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 11/17/1973
The race is on downstairs -- who will marry first upstairs -- Captain James or his father, Richard?
Director: Derek Bennett
Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy
The Best Episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs
Every episode of Upstairs, Downstairs ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs!
Upstairs: the wealthy, aristocratic Bellamys. Downstairs: their loyal and lively servants. For nearly 30 years, they share a fashionable townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in...
Genre:Drama
Network:ITV1
Best Episodes Summary
"All the King's Horses" is the best rated episode of "Upstairs, Downstairs". It scored 9.2/10 based on 112 votes. Directed by Simon Langton and written by Jeremy Paul, it aired on 12/14/1975. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Whither Shall I Wander?".