"Disillusion" is the seventh 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 romance film, romances, adventure f ...

'' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It first aired on 19 October 1975 on ITV.

Background

''Disillusion'' was recorded in the studio on 3 and 4 April 1975, and was the final appearance of Karen Dotrice as Lily Hawkins.

Cast

* Gordon Jackson - Hudson * Jean Marsh -

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 *

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 *

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 *

Hannah Gordon Hannah Campbell Grant Gordon
Film reference website (born 9 April 1941) is a Scottish actress and presenter ...

- Virginia Bellamy *

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 in ...

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 ...

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 Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 Daisy, Daisies or DAISY may refer to: Plants * ''Bellis perennis'', the common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy, a European species Other plants known as daisy * Asteraceae, daisy family ** '' Euryops chrysanthemoides'', African bush daisy ** ' ...

Plot

It is spring 1924, and Georgina returns from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, having stayed with Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Daisy gets annoyed when Lily is given time off to go shopping by Mr Hudson. A few days later, while at the Wembley Exhibition, Georgina spots Hudson and Lily together holding hands. That evening she tells Virginia what she saw, and Virginia then asks Rose if Lily is seeing any one. Rose says she knows nothing, but then goes to see Lily and asks her if she is going out with Mr Hudson. Lily confirms this and tells Rose how he has taken her to concerts and museums. Very soon, the whole house knows what has been going on. Hudson explains to Mrs Bridges that Lily brings him hope and joy, and he tells Virginia that he has "very deep feelings" for her. Mrs Bridges is upset, as she and Hudson had agreed that one day they would marry. Hudson soon decides to resign and gives four weeks notice. Hudson wants to go with Lily on Sunday to see her mother in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

to ask for Lily's hand in marriage, however Lily cannot bring herself to tell him that she does not love him. On the Sunday morning, having spoken to Georgina, Lily talks to Hudson, and hurts him by saying insulting him and calling him boring. The following morning, Lily leaves 165, Eaton Place without telling anyone and goes back to live with her mother. She leaves a note for Mr Hudson, explaining she did not mean the hurtful things she said the day before, she only wanted to stop him caring for her. Hudson then withdraws his resignation, and Virginia writes a very good reference for Lily.

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:Disillusion Upstairs, Downstairs (series 5) episodes 1975 British television episodes Fiction set in 1924