"Upstairs, Downstairs" follows the lives of both the family and the servants in a London townhouse in the early 1900s. Richard Bellamy, played by David Langton, is the head of the household and a member of Parliament, and his wife is member of the titled aristocracy. Belowstairs, Hudson, played by Gordon Jackson, the Scottish butler directs and guides the other servants about their tasks and (sometimes) their proper place. Real-life events from 1903-1930 are incorporated into the stories of the Bellamy household.