"The Sudden Storm" is the last episode of the third 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 January 1974 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 ...

Cast

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 * 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 ...

Meg Wynn Owen Margaret Wright ( Shuttleworth, 8 November 1939 – June 2022), better known as Meg Wynn Owen, was a British actress known for her role as Hazel Bellamy in '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She also appeared in ''Gosford Park'', ''Love Actually, Pride ...

Hazel Bellamy Hazel Patricia Bellamy (née Forrest; circa 1883–1918), is a fictional character in the British television series, '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She was portrayed by Meg Wynn Owen. On 15 April 1912 Richard hires Hazel Forrest to type the biograp ...

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 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 ...

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 *

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 ...

Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass (28 May 1919 – 8 September 2006) was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'', Algy Herries in ''To S ...

- Albert Lyons

Plot

Rose the lady's maid awakens Georgina, who raves about the wonderful ball she attended the previous evening. Downstairs, Ruby is reading a newspaper account of the ball to Edward. Edward then explains that Mr. Lyons, a shopkeeper, will be joining them for lunch, and whispers that Lyons has taken a fancy to Mrs. Bridges. Upstairs, Rose and Daisy are cleaning Georgina's room. Daisy talks about how lovely going to balls must be, but Rose berates her for being too fanciful, and warns her that she better hide her relationship with Edward or risk losing her job. In the morning room, James, Richard, and Hazel have coffee. James, in a typically grumpy mood, casually insists the way to solve the Irish Crisis is to "blow up" Belfast and Dublin, then stalks off to work. Hazel admits to Richard that she and James are not suited to each other, and says she will leave him whether he accepts a job offer in India or not. Mrs Bridges admits to Hudson that she has been seeing Mr Lyons and that her longstanding agreement to marry Hudson is now in doubt. It is August 1914, and the servants are offered a day's holiday in Herne Bay in Kent. They enjoy a rare day out together, and Hudson goes so far as to offer a song on the vaudeville stage, but his performance is curtailed by the announcement that Britain is about to go to war with Germany. Everyone joins Hudson in singing "

Rule Britannia "Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...

" instead. Mrs Bridges feels humiliated by the appearance of a drunken Mr Lyons, and discontinues her relationship with him. With Germany's invasion of Belgium, Britain is dragged into war and at 11pm Britain declares war on Germany.

Awards

Director Bill Bain won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1975 for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for his work this episode. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sudden Storm, The Upstairs, Downstairs series 3 episodes 1974 British television episodes Fiction set in 1914