Thomas & Sarah

Thomas & Sarah
Opening credits of Thomas & Sarah
Genre	Drama
Created by	Alfred Shaughnessy
Starring	Pauline Collins John Alderton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	50 minutes
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	28 January 1979 – 8 April 1979

Thomas & Sarah was a short-lived British drama series and the only spin-off from the popular BAFTA Award-winning series Upstairs, Downstairs. It ran for thirteen episodes in 1979 and featured John Alderton and Pauline Collins reprising their former roles.

Background

Following the end of Upstairs, Downstairs in 1975 there were many ideas for spin-offs, and the idea for Thomas & Sarah was originally given the name In Confidence by Alfred Shaughnessy and John Hawkesworth. At a memorial service for Cyril Bennett, the LWT Controller who had died in November 1976, his successor Michael Grade agreed to do a programme with John Alderton and Pauline Collins, now a celebrated television couple, reprising their former roles . In October 1977, John Hawkesworth was commissioned to write a synopsis for the programme, and it was filmed from September 1978 to March 1979. The writers, many of whom had worked on Upstairs, Downstairs, were Terence Brady & Charlotte Bingham, Alfred Shaughnessy, Jeremy Paul, Anthony Skene, Alick Rowe and Angharad Lloyd.

Plot

File:Thomas & Sarah 2.jpg

Thomas and Sarah at The Ritz Hotel

Thomas & Sarah follows the adventures of Thomas Watkins, the chauffeur, and Sarah, the house and nursery maid, after leaving service at Eaton Place in 1910. Sarah is pregnant, and according to their last episode of Upstairs, Downstairs they have married, but according to Thomas & Sarah they "never got round to it". In addition, a two-part short story, entitled The Spin of the Wheel, that bridges the gap between them leaving Eaton Place and the start of Thomas & Sarah, was written by Alfred Shaughnessy and published in the TV Times in the 23 December and 6 January issues.

Episodes

Title	Airdate	Overview
Birds of a Feather	14 January	Thomas and Sarah have split, and Sarah is working in a village in Surrey, thinking Thomas is a part of her past. However, he soon appears in the village.
The Silver Ghost	21 January	After a Rolls Royce is delieved to Thomas's garage for servicing, he unwitting becomes involved in a smuggling operation involving stolen property.
The Biters Bit	28 January	Having been mistaken for members of the aristocracy, Thomas and Sarah gatecrash a weekend house party. However, the hostess soon realises they're not who they say they are.
The Vanishing Lady	4 February	Sarah is back working in the music halls, and after seeing a vanishing act, wonders if herself and Thomas could turn this into their own act.
Made In Heaven	11 February	Thomas decides to start a matchmaking business for lonely couples, and an empty house he is caretaking will be the ideal base for the business.
Alma Mater	18 February	Thomas and Sarah get jobs in a rundown boarding school, and soon discover that the headmaster is swindling the parents of the pupils.
A Day at the Metropole	25 February	The couple travel to Brighton so Thomas can use his skills to help a wealthy gentleman win a motor race.
The Poor Young Widow of Peckham	4 March	After a photograph of Sarah taken on the streets of London brings Thomas both to the point of death and nationwide fame.
There Is A Happy Land	11 March	After Sarah tricks Thomas in turning his back on his dream of emigrating to America, he sets to seek his revenge.
Return to Gethyn	18 March	Thomas and Sarah visit to his family in rural Wales gives Sarah the opportunity to establish whether Thomas really did rape Bessie Evans.
Putting On The Ritz	25 March	They pair plan a con trick at the Ritz Hotel, but they wonder whether the waiter all he seems.
The New Rich	1 April	After a lucky gamble, Thomas and Sarah move up in the World and get servants of their own. However, their butler (played by Nigel Hawthorne) is not impressed by their behaviour.
Love Into Three Won't Go	8 April	Thomas and Sarah have to return to domestic service, in the employ of the reclusive Richard de Brassey. Between he and Sarah a strange love blossoms.

Cliffhanger

The last minutes of the first series saw Sarah mourning at a graveside. The public were not to know whether this was Thomas or Richard de Brassey, her last employer, but the public knew a second series had been commissioned so it was clear it couldn't been Thomas in the grave.

Second series

The public reaction to the series was good enough to have a second series commissioned, and some location work was filmed in July 1979. However, a strike at ITV meant work was halted and never finished. The location work has since been wiped. The names of four of the episodes are known, "Where There's A Will"', "For Richer, For Poorer", "Favours" and "Flying the Foam". Again, these were written by Terence Brady & Charlotte Bingham and Jeremy Paul.

Novelisations

Like Upstairs, Downstairs, novelisations of the series were written. The first book, titled simply Thomas & Sarah, was published in 1978 by Sphere Books and covers the first seven episodes of the programme. The second book, titled Thomas & Sarah: Two for a Spin, was also published by Sphere Books and released in 1979. Both books were written by Mollie Hardwick, who also wrote many Upstairs, Downstairs books.

DVD releases

Thomas & Sarah was released in Region 2 (UK) by VCI in 2004. This followed releases of all episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs by VCI in similar packaging. VCI stopped making copies of the DVDs in 2005. The whole series was released by Network DVD on 16 April 2007, Network having previously released all episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs.

In 2003, Thomas & Sarah was released by A&E DVD (Region 1, US).

References

• Richard Marson, "Inside UpDown - The Story of Upstairs, Downstairs", Kaleidoscope Publishing, 2005