"The Understudy" is the tenth episode of the fifth and final season of the

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

'' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It first aired on 9 November 1975 on ITV.

Background

"The Understudy" was recorded in the studio on 10 and 11 July 1975. Shortly before this episode aired, an episode of ''

Carry On Laughing : ''This article describes the all-original 1975 TV series. Not to be confused with the later "Carry On" film-clip compilations or the stage play of the same name''. ''Carry On Laughing'' is a British television comedy series produced in 1975 ...

'' called "And In My Lady's Chamber" was broadcast. This was a spoof of ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' with

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for playing Gran i ...

as Mrs Breeches and Jack Douglas as Clodson, and the Bellamys became the Pellamys. Three weeks later, another ''Carry On Laughing'' episode used the same characters in the episode "Who Needs Kitchener?", a spoof of the fourth series of ''Upstairs, Downstairs''. After "The Understudy" had been filmed, the main cast of ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' filmed the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

documentary '' Russell Harty Goes...Upstairs, Downstairs'', which was aired on Boxing Day 1975.

Cast

* Gordon Jackson - Hudson *

David Langton David Muir Langton (born Basil Muir Langton-Dodds; 16 April 1912 – 25 April 1994) was a British actor who is best remembered for playing Richard Bellamy in the period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Early years David Langton was born Basi ...

- Richard Bellamy * Simon Williams - James Bellamy *

Lesley-Anne Down Lesley-Anne Down (born 17 March 1954) is a British actress, singer and former model. She achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1973–75). She received further recognition for her performances in ...

- Georgina Worsley *

Jean Marsh Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

Angela Baddeley Madeleine Angela Clinton-Baddeley, CBE (4 July 1904 – 22 February 1976) was an English stage and television actress, best-remembered for her role as household cook Mrs. Bridges in the period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. Her stage career ...

- Mrs Bridges *

Christopher Beeny Christopher Winton Beeny (7 July 1941 – 3 January 2020) was an English actor and dancer. He had a career as a child actor, but was best known for his work as the footman Edward Barnes on the 1970s television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ...

- Edward *

Gareth Hunt Alan Leonard Hunt (7 February 1942 – 14 March 2007), known as Gareth Hunt, was a British actor best remembered for playing footman Frederick Norton in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and Mike Gambit in '' The New Avengers''. Early life Alan Leon ...

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

Jenny Tomasin Jenny Tomasin (22 March 1938 – 3 January 2012) was an English actress best known for her roles in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and ''Emmerdale''. Early life Tomasin was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1938 to working class parents. S ...

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...

* Jacqueline Tong - Daisy *

Anthony Woodruff Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...

- Dr. Foley * Andre Charisse - M. Fleuriau * Barbara Bolton - Madamae Fleuriau * Natalie Caron - Simone Fleauriau *

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of commo ...

- Lord Swanbourne Uncredited role; www.updown.org.uk * Lorna Kilner - Lady Swanbourne *

Roy Knight Robert Ross "Roy" Knight (12 December 1891 – 11 September 1971) was a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and became a farmer and teach ...

- Ambulance Man * David Nicholl - Ambulance Man

Plot

It is September 1926 and Richard is having the French Ambassador, M. Fleariau, and his wife and daughter to dinner. Virginia is in Scotland and can not return as she has a bad fever. Georgina offers to cancel her

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

weekend to act as host, and she persuades James to cancel his day of polo to give her support. On the evening of the dinner, Hudson collapses and Dr. Foley is sent for instantly. Dr. Foley confirms that Hudson had a mild

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. A debate then starts downstairs as to who will take Hudson's place that evening as butler, with Daisy heavily pushing for her husband Edward, but Frederick believing it should be himself. Upstairs, although James favours Frederick, Georgina and Richard go for Edward, who performs his duties as butler very well. However, he nearly makes one error when he forgets to

decant Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures of immiscible liquids or of a liquid and a solid mixture such as a suspension. The layer closer to the top of the container—the less dense of the two liquids, or the liquid from which t ...

the

claret Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

, but Frederick reminds him to do so. Dr. Foley says that Hudson needs a couple of months to recoperate, and it is arranged for him to go and stay with Mr and Mrs. Tranter, a couple who live down on the

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

estate. Once again, they argue upstairs as to who should act as butler while Hudson is away. James favours Frederick, but Richard, Georgina and Virginia (via the telephone) all favour Edward, and he is chosen. Before he goes, Hudson tells Mrs. Bridges that he has left everything he has to her should he die, and Mrs. Bridges says she has done the same for him. As he leaves, Mrs Bridges cries.

Footnotes

References

Richard Marson Richard Marson (born c.1967) is an English writer, television producer and director, best known as a former editor-in-chief of the BBC's children's television programme ''Blue Peter''. In September 2007, Marson was sacked from his post for makin ...

, "Inside UpDown - The Story of Upstairs, Downstairs",

Kaleidoscope Publishing Kaleidoscope Publishing is a publishing house founded by Richard Down and Chris Perry, and based in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1988 and exists to promote the appreciation of British television, including classic and cult programming. No ...

, 2005
Updown.org.uk
- ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' Fansite {{DEFAULTSORT:Understudy, The Upstairs, Downstairs (series 5) episodes 1975 British television episodes Fiction set in 1926