"Home Fires" is the sixth episode of the fourth 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 1974 on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

Background

''Home Fires'' was filmed in the studio on 25 and 26 June 1974. The location footage was shot on 17 June 1974 at Barnsbury Square,

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

. The episode was set in 1916, and was the second and final episode featuring

Keith Barron Keith Barron (8 August 1934 – 15 November 2017) was an English actor and television presenter who appeared in films and on television from 1961 until 2017. His television roles included the police drama '' The Odd Man'', the sitcom '' Duty Fr ...

as Gregory Wilmot.

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 ...

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 *

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. In the spring of 1912, Richard Bellamy hires Hazel Forrest as ...

Joan Benham Joan Benham (17 May 1918 – 13 June 1981) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Lady Prudence Fairfax in the ITV period drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. She was born in London and was the first cousin of Hollywood actr ...

- Lady Prudence Fairfax *

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 *

Gregory Wilmot This is an alphabetical list of characters from the ITV drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', which aired from 1971 to 1975. Cast ; Key : Regular cast (4 or more episodes) : Recurring cast (2–3 episodes) : Guest cast (1 episode) ...

Auriol Smith Auriol Smith (born 1936) is an English actress and theatre director. She was a founder member and associate director of the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London. She co-founded the theatre in 1971 with her husband Sam Walters, who became the ...

- Mrs Lorimer * John Lyons - Charlie * Julia Sutton - Dorothy Matthews *Robert McBain - Hamish Matthews *Audrey Joyce - Mrs Ganton Audrey Joyce's role as Mrs Ganton was uncredited.

Plot

Rose's former fiancée Gregory Wilmot arrives to see Rose, but she is working on the buses. He is now a

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the

ANZACs ANZAC, ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion ( ...

. While Hudson tells Sgt. Wilmot that Rose is too busy at the moment, Daisy privately tells him what bus route she is on, and he surprises Rose on the bus. They then have tea at the bus depot. Later, when speaking to Hazel, Rose says that she would now be happy to go to Australia with Gregory. When Gregory is put on 48-hour leave for France, he goes to see Hudson and tells him that his feelings for Rose have changed and he doesn't love her as he used to. Hudson then helps him write a letter to Rose telling her this. Shortly after, Hamish Matthews, Gregory's old friend, finds Rose on her bus and brings her to see Gregory at his house. After Gregory admits he doesn't love her, Rose throws her engagement ring, which she'd been given when Gregory proposed on 12 April 1914, across the room and walks out. However, Gregory soon catches up with her at the bus depot and tells Rose how his experiences at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

have changed how he thinks. They agree to marry once the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

is over, and soon tell Richard and Hazel, who both like him. Gregory then insists that he and Rose leave by the front door. Lady Prudence goes to Eaton Place to suggest that Hazel hold a Wounded Officers' Tea Party in the drawing room. Hazel says there are too few servants to hold the event, and also thinks that ordinary soldiers might be a more deserving cause. But on her way out Lady Prudence asks Hudson whether it would be too much and he says it would not be, making Hazel annoyed that Lady Prudence used Hudson to get her own way. Also, Mrs Bridges is in Yarmouth at her sister and brother-in-law's house, helping out after it was bombed. Mrs Ganton is her temporary replacement.

Footnotes

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:Home Fires Upstairs, Downstairs series 4 episodes 1974 British television episodes Fiction set in 1916 Television episodes set in the 1910s