Gold standard British period drama 'still better than Downton Abbey'

It set the bar for all period dramas to follow.09:51, 23 Jul 2026A timeless period drama — one that predates Downton Abbey and the BBC's Pride and Prejudice by decades — is still held up as one of the best. Upstairs, Downstairs may not ring a bell for younger fans, but the period drama was a global sensation and its influence shines most clearly in Downton Abbey.‌As the definitive period dramas of their respective eras, Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey share themes and even the same time period. Both are generational sagas about a well-to-do family and their servants against a backdrop of sweeping social change.‌Upstairs, Downstairs, chronicled the turbulent lives of the aristocratic Bellamy family and their domestic staff in the early 1900s. Spanning three decades, the story stretch