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Renewed: Upstairs, Downstairs

UPDATE: The BBC has commissioned a second series of its revamped Upstairs, Downstairs -but the show is not going to the ABC.

The BBC has commissioned a second series of its revamped Upstairs, Downstairs period drama.

It has approved another six hour-long episodes.

The co-production with US broadcaster PBS stars Keeley Hawes, Anne Reid and original cast member Jean Marsh. It ran as a three specials from Boxing Day in the UK, averaging 7m viewers.

Caroline Torrance, director of investment & content acquisitions at BBC Worldwide, said: “Upstairs Downstairs is a wonderfully fresh take on a much loved classic, with great production values and a world-class ensemble cast, and we hope it will prove as popular with audiences around the world as it has with UK viewers.”

The original ITV series which aired in the 1970s ran for five series, on Nine and the ABC.

The new version will also air in Australia on the ABC.

UPDATE: BBC Worldwide advises a UK report was incorrect. The show is going to UKTV.

Source: Digital Spy

9 Responses

  1. 7TWO actually repeated the whole original series weekday mornings last year with the black and white episodes included. After I saw the first episode I couldn’t get enough, it’s something different and thoroughly entertaining.

  2. Downton Abbey is brillant My wife & I just finished watching it, cannot wait for season 2. Pity that on 7, they will destory it, like they did with Kingdom.

  3. It originally started on the Nine Network — indeed, it was one of the Network’s flagship shows during the change to color television in 1975.

    The show began on LWT in 1971 and Nine played the show from episode one — each season was only 6 shows, but coming through with three seasons in one hit gave the series a huge fan base from that year onwards.

    The black and white episodes, due to some tv technicians strike, “On The Buses” was another show caught up in this, went to air in Australia with no big deal since there was plenty of b&w shows still in circulation on tv at the time.

    The show initially had timeslots during the week, but for most of it’s run was on Sunday nights at 7.30 pm, a slot “60 Minutes” has had since it’s debut in 1979.

    The show was a huge hit and ‘Mr. Hudson’ Gordon Jackson was one of the main guests at the 1976 Logie Awards.

    Not sure whether 9 ever repeated the show, but the ABC did repeat the show in the years since.

  4. This is excellent news!
    Another program which was very popular in the UK recently (Downton Abbey) was bought by 7, so we’ll be lucky to see it at all, except perhaps at midnight irregularly (like Kingdom).
    I was afraid Upstairs, Downstairs would meet the same fate!

  5. The orginal series was screen on ch 9 in Perth in the 70’s. And when nine repeated in early 80’s they screen the few b/w eps,when the ABC had it during the late 80’s,minus the those b/w eps, only show the colour eps. With a different colour eps when Pauline Collins arrive.

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