"An Old Flame" is the sixth episode of the fifth and final series 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 12 October 1975 on ITV.

Background

"An Old Flame" was recorded in the studio on 20 and 21 March 1975. The plot of ''An Old Flame'' started as a script by

Elizabeth Jane Howard Elizabeth Jane Howard, Lady Amis (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist, author of 12 novels including the best-selling series ''The'' ''Cazalet Chronicles''. Early life Howard's parents were timber-merchant Major David L ...

called ''The Price of Rubies''. ''The Price of Rubies'' was due to be made for broadcast on 28 September, but for an unknown reason it was dropped and replaced by the quickly-written episode '' The Joy Ride''. The plot of ''The Price of Rubies'', was later taken over by John Hawkesworth, who adapted it into ''An Old Flame''.

Cast

* Gordon Jackson - Hudson *

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 * Simon Williams - James Bellamy *

Celia Bannerman Celia Bannerman (born 3 June 1944) is an English actress and director. Career Bannerman was born at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and trained at the London Drama Centre. She started her professional career with Ralph Richardson as Dolly in Bernard S ...

- Diana Newbury *

Georgina Hale Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is an English film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell, including '' The Devils'' (1971), '' The Boy Friend'' (1971), and ''Mahler'' (1974), for ...

- Violet Marshall *

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 *

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 *

Karen Dotrice Karen Dotrice ( ; born 9 November 1955) is a British actress. She is known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's '' Mary Poppins'', the feature film adaptation of the '' Mary Poppins'' book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey i ...

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

Jacqueline Tong Jacqueline Tong (born 21 May 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Daisy Peel in the television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1973–1975), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Contin ...

- Daisy * John Quayle - Bunny Newbury *

Tom Chatto Tom Chatto (born Thomas Chatto St George Sproule; 1 September 1920 – 8 August 1982) was an English actor who made numerous appearances on television, film, and stage between 1957 and his death in 1982. Early life and career Chatto is a great- ...

- The Waiter *Mike McKenzie - The Pianist *John Caesar - The Policeman

Plot

It is May 1923, and by chance James meets Diana Newbury at a club in London. Minutes later the police raid the club, but James and Diana escape through a side room. Outside, they kiss passionately. Diana then gets James to ask her to stay with him at a cottage in

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

that he is using while golfing. James agrees, and Edward accompanies him as his

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...

. Diana Newbury brings her lady's maid Violet Marshall, who flirts with a unresponsive Edward. Diana soon confesses that she still loves James, and has done ever since she was 13 years old. They sleep together, and afterwards discuss the idea of her leaving her husband Bunny, James's best friend, and going with James to live abroad. Diana suggests going to France immediately; without telling James, she has already left a note at Bunny's club saying she has left him. However, Bunny returns earlier than expected and finds it. Bunny then goes to see Richard, who has returned from Scotland due to Bonar Law's resignation as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. Richard then telephones James to tell him that Bunny knows, and James returns to London with Diana against her wishes. Bunny and James then meet, and Bunny says he will not

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

Diana, but he is happy to enable Diana to divorce him. However, James and Diana later agree they could not live together as they are not really suited to each other any more. Diana then goes back to Bunny and they leave on an extended cruise. Violet delivers a note from Diana via Edward to James. It reads "Thank you for being such a saint. Bless you my darling. Goodbye. D". After James reads this, he screws it up.

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:Old Flame, An Upstairs, Downstairs series 5 episodes 1975 British television episodes Fiction set in 1923