"Noblesse Oblige" is the fourteenth 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 7 December 1975 on
ITV.
Background
''Noblesse Oblige'' was recorded in the studio on 24 and 25 July 1975.
Cast
*
Angela Baddeley -
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
*
Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells (17 September 1922 – 16 October 2005) was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television.
Life and career
Howells was born in London, the daughter of composer Herbert Howells, ...
- Duchess of Buckminster
*
Christopher Beeny -
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 ...
*
Jacqueline Tong -
Daisy
*
Jenny Tomasin -
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 ...
*
Anthony Andrews -
Robert, Marquess of Stockbridge
*Elaine Donnelly - Mabel
*
Joan Sanderson
Joan Sanderson (24 November 1912 – 24 May 1992) was an English actress. During a long career on stage and screen, her tall and commanding disposition led to her playing mostly dowagers, spinsters and matrons, as well as intense Shakespearean ...
- Mrs Waddilove
*
Deddie Davies - Mrs Tibbitt
*Frank Duncan - Wireless Announcer
[Uncredited role; www.updown.org.uk]
Plot
It is June 1929. Georgina and Lord Stockbridge are seeing a lot of each other; Robert tells Georgina he is in love with her, and she admits she feels the same. When Stockbridge proposes, Georgina accepts. Richard is delighted for them. However, Robert's mother, the Duchess of Buckminster, says she and the Duke disapprove - mainly because of the inquest Georgina was involved in (dealt with in the previous episode "Joke Over"), and the press coverage Georgina received over the years as one of the London
bright young things. However, a few days later Georgina is invited to
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
with the Duchess, who tells Georgina that she and the Duke are sending Robert around the world for some months. They feel their son is not yet ready to marry or to run their large estates. Georgina and Robert agree to marry in exactly one year's time, 12 June 1930.
Meanwhile, after getting fed up with Mrs Bridges' constant hectoring, Ruby leaves Eaton Place during the night. She writes to Richard Bellamy to ask for a reference, and gets a job in the London suburb of
Ruislip
Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London.
The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...
as a
cook-general on £46 a year. In Lady Bellamy's absence, Georgina interviews Mabel Wilks as a replacement, and she is employed despite asking for higher wages. However, Mabel is insubordinate, does not do her work properly and is rude to everyone. Mrs Bridges is unable to cope.
Ruby's new mistress, Mrs Gladys Waddilove, is a bully who treats her badly. Mrs Bridges reads a letter from Ruby to Daisy and visits Ruby, sensing she is unhappy. After hearing how exhausted Ruby is and witnessing Mrs Waddilove's abusive treatment, Mrs Bridges brings Ruby back to Eaton Place. Mabel leaves.
As a result of the
1929 general election, Richard loses his government post.
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, 2005
Updown.org.uk- ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' Fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noblesse Oblige
Upstairs, Downstairs series 5 episodes
1975 British television episodes
Fiction set in 1929
Television episodes set in the 1920s