"Disillusion" is the seventh episode of the fifth and final series of the

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

'' 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 Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

Jean Marsh Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh (1 July 1934 – 13 April 2025) was an English actress and writer. She co-created and starred in the ITV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1975), for which she won the 1975 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actr ...

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

Angela Baddeley Madeleine Angela Clinton-Baddeley (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 laste ...

- Mrs Bridges *

Lesley-Anne Down Lesley-Anne Down (born 17 March 1954) is a British actress and singer. She made her motion picture debut in the 1969 drama film '' The Smashing Bird I Used to Know'' and later appeared in films ''Assault'' (1971), '' Countess Dracula'' (1971) a ...

- 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 t ...

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

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

Jenny Tomasin Jenny Tomasin (22 March 1938 – 3 January 2012) was a British actress, known for her role as kitchen maid Ruby Finch in the LWT period drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', which she played from 1972 to 1975. Early life Tomasin was born in ...

Ruby 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 sapph ...

Gareth Hunt Alan Leonard Hunt (7 February 1942 – 14 March 2007), known as Gareth Hunt, was a British television actor best remembered for playing footman Frederick Norton in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and Mike Gambit in '' The New Avengers''. Early lif ...

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

Jacqueline Tong Jacqueline Tong (born 21 February 1950) 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 C ...

- Daisy

Plot

It is the spring of 1924, and Georgina returns from New York, having stayed with

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

in her city apartment. Meanwhile, Daisy gets annoyed when Lily is given time off by Mr Hudson to go shopping. A few days later, while at the Wembley Exhibition, Georgina spots Hudson and Lily holding hands. That evening, she tells Virginia, and Virginia asks Rose if Lily is seeing anyone. Rose says she knows nothing, but visits Lily and asks 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 an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

to ask for Lily's hand in marriage. However Lily cannot bring herself to tell him that she does not love him. On Sunday morning, having spoken to Georgina, Lily talks to Hudson, and deliberately hurts him by saying insulting things about him. Early the following morning, Lily leaves 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 had only wanted to stop him caring for her. Hudson withdraws his resignation, and Virginia writes a good reference for Lily.

References

Richard Marson Richard Marson (born July 1966) 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 m ...

, "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 Television episodes set in the 1920s