Jean Marsh will reprise the role of Rose and the co-production with the BBC will also feature Eileen Atkins. “Upstairs Downstairs” ran in the U.K. from 1971 to 1975.
Other plans for “Masterpiece” which marks its 40th anniversary next year, include a January miniseries called “Downton Abbey” by Julian Fellowes, author of “Gosford Park,” and described by “Masterpiece” executive producer as “the ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ stories of a country house in 1912.” It stars Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern.
To coincide with what would have been the 70th birthday of John Lennon this fall, Christopher Eccleston will portray the former Beatle in a new work that will cover his final years in London before moving to New York. It airs Nov. 21, the day before an “American Masters” documentary on Lennon’s time in New York.