Upstairs Downstairs

SUNDAYS @ 9:00pm on BBC1

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 Series 1
In 2010 Keeley Hawes took on the lead role of Lady Agnes Holland in the BBC revival of the popular 70's drama Upstairs Downstairs. 

The first series consisted of 3 hour-long episodes on the 26th, 27th & 28th December 2010.

Shortly afterwards it was announced that a second series of 6, hour-long episodes had been comissioned for early 2012.

However lead actress Dame Elieen Atkins quit the cast in September 2011 and it was announced that series 2 would see the arrival of a few new characters, including Alex Kingston, who would take on a lead role as the younger, sexier sister of Dame Eileen Atkins character, Dr.Blanche Mottershead.

Series 1 Pictures (including filming)

 Keeley Hawes Interview:
What was it that appealed to you about working on Upstairs Downstairs?

I had never seen the original series. So it was actually like getting any other script and reading it and not having an idea of what was going to be inside. I didn't come to it with any baggage. One of the first things that appealed to me was that it is written by Heidi Thomas. She is just such a brilliant writer. The scripts were so easy to read, and I was thrilled. I just wanted to do it immediately.

Can you tell us about your character Lady Agnes Holland?

She's absolutely lovely! She's very ambitious – but she's probably more ambitious for her husband. She doesn't work and has a lot of time on her hands. She's come from a very posh family and has good breeding. But it's when she and Sir Hallam move back to London, having inherited money, she suddenly finds that she's in a world of material things that she's never had.

It's quite exciting for her really – but also quite difficult. She's not greedy at all – it's not just about having things. She's very excited at the prospect of everything that London has to offer them. And actually, this is all in place of the child that they've never been able to have. Sadly, she lost her first baby when she and Hallam were in America. So all her energy goes into her husband and her home – but there is a wonderful surprise for them when she discovers she is pregnant again. She doesn't want to believe that it might be true because it would be too heartbreaking if it were to happen again. And when the baby comes, it turns everything on its head.

Lady Agnes is very glamorous. Did you enjoy wearing the costumes?

It was absolutely brilliant! Amy Roberts, our costume designer, is a genius. And she made it very easy for me to feel comfortable as Lady Agnes. There was rarely a time when I didn't feel comfortable in the costume that she had chosen. When someone is as good at their job as she is it makes everything so much easier for you as an actor.

Did you enjoy inhabiting 165 Eaton Place?

The sets are amazing. They are the best sets I've seen anywhere! Eve Stewart – our production designer – has done an amazing job. Again, it just emphasises how we've had the best people we possibly could to make this such a special production. And that really does come across on screen. Along with the writing, of course!

There is a stellar cast line-up on this series. What was it like working with them?

We've got Dame Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh! I'd worked with Art Malik about 12 years ago. And I've also worked with Ed – I ended up murdering the person I thought his character was having an affair with! It was wonderful to have the history of Eileen and Jean. There is scene where Lady Agnes says to Rose: "Welcome home". Even now, it's heartbreaking. She was a young woman in the original. I know that she found a lot of it quite moving. For her more than anybody it was quite an emotional experience – a huge part of her life.

Do you think this new revival will appeal to a younger generation?

We cover all bases on that one! The range of cast is quite perfect – we go from birth to 76 years old. There is something for everyone and they are all such strong characters. You could have ended up filling that house with people and that could have watered things down.

In Upstairs Downstairs there's a perfect amount of time spent on each character. No one's storyline is diluted. You get to know every person.

There was also something for us as actors, too. There was always somebody lovely to chat with. I loved sitting with the older ladies. Or Ellie, or one of the younger ones. We were all thrown in together and it was a very nice set to work on.

How did you find filming in south Wales?

It was lovely. I stayed in Penarth, which was beautiful. The Welsh crew were great, and everyone is so very excited about the industry there at the moment. 

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Series 2

Alex Kingston (Moll Flanders, ER, Doctor Who), and Kenneth Cranham (The Night Watch, Made In Dagenham) will join the cast when viewers return to the famous Eaton Square, London address, two years on, in 1938 when Chamberlain is in power.
Alex Kingston says: "I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to get inside the iconic 165 Eaton Place and join a show steeped in such history but that has been revived for a whole new generation. I will be playing the uncompromising, straight speaking spinster, Dr Blanche Mottershead, the younger sister of the late Maud, Lady Holland and Sir Hallam's Aunt. Heidi [Thomas, writer] really has created a wonderfully, intriguing character in Blanche who will, over time, reveal some secrets of her own." 

Executive producer and Head of Drama BBC Wales, Faith Penhale adds: "Heidi's scripts are exquisite and I can't wait to see our wonderful cast and exciting new arrivals Alex Kingston and Kenneth Cranham bring their characters to life. We return to Upstairs Downstairs in September 1938, and our story spans the 12 months leading up to war. The ensuing months will be filled with passion, intrigue, laughter and heartbreak. There is a whole world to play for!"
"Upstairs Downstairs was an unqualified hit when it aired on Masterpiece last year. More than seven million viewers tuned in," says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. " We'll miss Eileen [Atkins], but our audience will be excited to see Alex and Kenneth in the cast; Alex's performance as Moll Flanders has made her a Masterpiece favourite. "

 (BBC Press Office (22/11/11) - LINK)

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Alex Kingston's character, Blanche is described as a free-thinking and outspoken archaeologist who smokes cheroots and who is fond of a ‘little light nudism’.

Read more: HERE!

“Whilst Jean Marsh is due to return as the Holland household’s right-hand woman at some stage, Series 2 will be begin with Lady Maude’s funeral and the abrupt arrival of Alex Kingston as her much-younger, sexier sister and straight talking spinster, Dr Blanche Mottershead.”

Kingston Talks Upstairs Downstairs

Kingston, who will play Dr Blanche Mottershead - the younger and sexier sister of Eileen Atkins’ character Lady Holland - spoke to The Sun about her role. “I can say the character is very complex, very intriguing and very straighttalking,” she said. “She has some very dark secrets of her own.”
Upstairs Downstairs, the classic Seventies drama, was revived for a Christmas special in 2010 but was soundly beaten in the ratings by Downton Abbey. The impending series is set in 1939 in the ever-lengthening shadow of the Second World War. Apart from Kingston the other big name star is Keeley Hawes who plays Lady Agnes, an aristocrat with the hots for a charismatic multimillionaire. She just happens to be also very married. 

Keeley Hawes on new Upstairs Downstairs actresses:

Its star, Keeley Hawes, tells … that the actresses who have joined the cast are so pretty that she pleaded with the producers to make sure they are not allowed to outshine her when the series begins later this year.
“We have some great new cast additions, including Alex Kingston and Laura Haddock, but, personally, I think they’re both way too pretty,” says the 35-year-old actress.
Hawes, who is the face of Boots No 7 cosmetics, adds: “I’m, like, ‘no more scenes with them, thank you very much, just solo close-ups of my face, please.’ ” 

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Episode Synopsis & Reviews

 Episode 1: A Faraway Country About Which We Know Nothing
 Episode 1 Review 
Episode 2 - The Love That Pays The Price 
Episode 2 Review 
Episode 3: A Perfect Specimen of Womanhood 
Episode 4 Synopsis 

Series 2 Gallery (including filming)