Upstairs, Downstairs is a British television drama series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for ITV. It ran for 68 episodes divided into five series on ITV from 1971 to 1975. Set in a large townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in Belgravia in central London, the series depicts the servants—"downstairs"—and their masters, the family—"upstairs"—between the years 1903 and 1930, and shows the slow decline of the British aristocracy. Great events feature prominently in each episode but minor or gradual changes are also noted. The show may be regarded as a document of the social and technological changes that occurred during those 27 years, including the Edwardian period, women's suffrage, the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, and the Wall Street Crash. It was a ratings success for ITV and received outstanding acclaim worldwide, winning multiple awards. A BBC Wales and Masterpiece-produced continuation, Upstairs Downstairs, was broadcast by BBC One in 2010. Background Upstairs, Downstairs was originally an idea by two actress friends, Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, for a comedy called Behind the Green Baize Door. It would focus on two housemaids, played by Marsh and Atkins, in a large English Country House in the Victorian era. They soon added a family upstairs, as Marsh recognised "Servants have to serve somebody". In summer 1969, they took this idea to Sagitta Productions, which was run by John Hawkesworth and John Whitney. They soon removed the comedy element, changed the setting to a large townhouse in Edwardian London and the title became Below Stairs. It was first offered to Granada Television in Manchester, but they declined as they already had a period drama, called A Family at War, about to start. However, Stella Richman, the Controller of Programmes at London Weekend Television, saw potential, and in April 1970, the first series was commissioned. Characters were then developed, but when Alfred Shaughnessy, an old friend of John Hawkesworth, was called in as script editor, he changed much of the detail to make the characters more realistic. Honor Blackman was short-listed for the role of Lady Marjorie and George Cole for that of the butler, Hudson. Jean Marsh was already slated to take the part of Rose Buck, the head house parlourmaid. Eileen Atkins was scheduled to play the other maid, Sarah Moffat, opposite Jean Marsh's Rose, but was playing Queen Victoria in a stage show at the time, so Pauline Collins took the