From ratcatcher to keeper of the snow: royal servants enter the spotlight in new exhibitions
Life below stairs in the palaces and grand houses of Britain takes centre stage in a series of exhibitions
November 2023
John Whitney obituary
Pioneer of commerical radio and deviser of popular television dramas including Upstairs, Downstairs and Danger UXB
March 2021
Nicola Pagett obituary
Stage and screen actor best known for playing Elizabeth Bellamy in the 1970s TV series Upstairs, Downstairs
August 2017
Rosemary Anne Sisson obituary
Master of TV period drama who made her name writing for Upstairs Downstairs
May 2015
Me and my tech
Ed Stoppard: ‘I’ve got a drawer filled with wires. And I don’t know what any of them do’
The Upstairs Downstairs actor breaks the rules on Twitter and would really like to print a 3-D prosthetic hand
October 2014
Observer New Review Q&A
Eileen Atkins: ‘Even today there’s a resentment of old people’
The actor talks to Susannah Clapp about getting older, her working-class roots – and what fun it was to work with Woody Allen…
March 2013
Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-Century Britain by Lucy Lethbridge – review
A colourful account of domestic service in 20th-century Britain challenges our social history, writes Lara Feigel
June 2012
Park Lane by Frances Osborne – review
Julie Burchill is left feeling somewhat grubby by a clumsy period saga
April 2012
TV and radio blog
Upstairs Downstairs is axed, but did it really have to die?
Viv Groskop: The BBC revival of the 1970s period drama only lasted for two series after losing out in the ratings to Downton Abbey – I always said killing that monkey was a mistake
March 2012
Upstairs Downstairs: episode by episode
Upstairs Downstairs: episode six
Mark Lawson on television
The Voice and Titanic show how TV favours deja vu
Mark Lawson
Upstairs Downstairs: episode by episode
Upstairs Downstairs: episode five
Upstairs Downstairs: episode by episode
Upstairs Downstairs: episode four
Upstairs Downstairs: episode by episode
Upstairs Downstairs: episode three
Observer TV reviews
Rewind TV: Empire; Melvyn Bragg on Class and Culture; Proud and Prejudiced; Make Bradford British; Upstairs Downstairs – review
February 2012
Upstairs Downstairs and the politics of work
Joe Moran
Joe Moran: Today's arguments about job snobs are strangely reminiscent of what used to be called the servant problem
Upstairs Downstairs: episode by episode
Upstairs Downstairs: episode two
Viv Groskop's series blog: The breakneck pace continues, but there's some compelling relationships building – and some great one-liners from Blanche
Andrew Collins: telly addict
The week in TV: Luck, Homeland and Upstairs Downstairs - video
Call the Midwife's final push draws more than 9 million viewers
