"Joke Over" is the thirteenth 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 Upstairs Downstairs may refer to: Television *Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975 *Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...

''. It first aired on 30 November 1975 on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Background

''Joke Over'' was recorded in the studio on 29 and 30 May 1975. The location footage was filmed near

Middle Wallop Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and a pet ...

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...

on 21 May 1975. The

scavenger hunt ''Scavenger Hunt'' is a 1979 American comedy film with a large ensemble cast which includes Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony Randa ...

plotline was inspired by the autobiography of

Barbara Cartland Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) published as Barbara Cartland was an English writer, known as the Queen of Romance, who published both contemporary romance, contemporary and historical romance novels, the lat ...

, ''We Danced All Night''. This had also been used by

Rosemary Anne Sisson Rosemary Anne Sisson (13 October 1923 – 28 July 2017) was an English television dramatist and novelist. She was described by playwright Simon Farquhar in 2014 as being "one of television's finest period storytellers", and in 2017 fellow d ...

in the earlier episode '' Laugh a Little Louder Please''. In ''Joke Over'', Madeleine Cannon makes her final appearance as Lady Dolly Hale.

Cast

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 t ...

Georgina Worsley Georgina, Marchioness of Stockbridge (née Georgina Worsley, born 28 November 1895), is a fictional character in the British television series, '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She was portrayed by Lesley-Anne Down. Georgina Worsley arrives to liv ...

* Gordon Jackson -

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

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 *

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 *

Raymond Huntley Horace Raymond Huntley (23 April 1904 – 15 June 1990) was an English actor who appeared in dozens of British films from the 1930s to the 1970s. He also appeared in the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' as the pragmatic family so ...

- Sir Geoffrey Dillon *

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-Sa ...

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

- Peter Dinmont *

Patsy Blower Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among ...

- Ethel *

Madeline Cannon ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian-American author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series a ...

- Lady Dolly Hale *

Terence Bayler Terence Bayler (24 January 1930 – 2 August 2016) was a New Zealand film, television, and stage actor. His most memorable roles were in '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979) and ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (2001). Biograph ...

- Darrow Morton *

Anthony Andrews Anthony Colin Gerald Andrews (born 12 January 1948) is an English actor. He played Lord Sebastian Flyte in the ITV miniseries ''Brideshead Revisited'' (1981), for which he won Golden Globe and BAFTA television awards, and was nominated for an ...

- Robert, Marquis of Stockbridge *

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 * Barry Stanton - PC Burridge * Bernard Barnsley - Mr Smith *

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 sa ...

Robert Hartley Robert Hartley (1915-1998) was a British stage, film and television actor. Selected filmography Film * ''At the Stroke of Nine'' (1957) * '' Bread'' (1971) Television * ''Z-Cars'' (1962–1974) * '' The Avengers'' (1963) * ''David Copperfield ...

- Coroner *

Daphne Lawson Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

- Mrs Smith *Kenneth Thornett - Foreman of the Jury * Sue Crossland - Double for Lesley-Anne DownUncredited role; www.updown.org.uk

Plot

It is summer 1928, and Lord and Lady Bellamy are in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, so Georgina has the house to herself. She returns late at night with friends Lady Dolly, Peter Dinmont, Ethel, Darrow Morton and Lord Stockbridge after a

. The final item for the scavenger hunt is a maid's cap, which they fetch from the Servants' Quarters, waking Hudson in the process. Lady Dolly soon goes upstairs to take

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. To finish the scavenger hunt the party need to drive down to the country, but when Lady Dolly's car has a puncture, they go to the garage and insist on taking Lord Bellamy's car. Edward tries to insist he drives, but they ignore him and go alone. Georgina is driving on a quiet road in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

when a cyclist, Mr Smith, suddenly comes out in front of her. Despite braking, she runs the man over. Back in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Lord and Lady Bellamy return and Sir Geoffrey Dillon arrives and informs them that Mr Smith has died. Richard blames Edward for allowing Georgina to drive. Lord Stockbridge's father, the Duke of Buckminster, forbids Robert, who was travelling in a separate car behind Georgina, from attending the

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

and the

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s have arranged to say that he was not there. At the inquest, Darrow, Peter and Ethel do not turn up, and Lady Dolly's testimony does more to harm Georgina's case than help. At the last minute, Lord Stockbridge turns up and insists on giving evidence. He tells the inquest how Georgina was only driving at 30 mph and says she could not have done anything to avoid running over Mr Smith. The verdict is given as "accidental death" but Georgina is rebuked for "irresponsible behaviour". Meanwhile, Edward is annoyed at being blamed for the event, and tells Daisy he will resign. However, Richard soon speaks to him and apologizes, saying Georgina told him what happened. Georgina tells Lord Stockbridge after the inquest that she never wants to see Lady Dolly again and they then go to the Savoy Grill together.

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 making ...

, "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:Joke Over Upstairs, Downstairs (series 5) episodes 1975 British television episodes Fiction set in 1928