The Best Episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sadly, perhaps inevitably, a double dose of tragic news arrives for those at Eaton Place.

Director: Raymond Menmuir

Writer: Elizabeth Jane Howard

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

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

The disparity between James' and Hazel's background is cut wide open when Hazel suffers a miscarriage.

Director: Bill Bain

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy

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

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

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

On the eve of an important dinner party for a French diplomat, Hudson suffers a heart attack.

Director: James Ormerod

Writer: Jeremy Paul

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

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

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

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

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

Grasping at straws, the Bellamy family continue to search for any information to indicate James is still alive, but when Trooper Frederick Norton, James' servant, arrives to deliver James' personal belongings, Hazel loses all hope.

Director: Christopher Hodson

Writer: Jeremy Paul

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

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

Sarah tells James she's having his baby and the Bellamys make provisions to avoid a major scandal.

Director: Cyril Coke

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy

Thomas is approached by a blackmailer who claims to have love letters from Lady Marjorie to Captain Hammond.

Director: Derek Bennett

Writer: Alfred Shaughnessy