Jean Marsh, award-winning star and co-creator of Upstairs Downstairs, dies aged 90
13 April 2025, 20:45 | Updated: 13 April 2025, 21:19
Jean Marsh, the actress who helped create Upstairs Downstairs and also starred in the series, has died aged 90.
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Marsh died at her home in London on Sunday after suffering from dementia, a close friend said.
Sir Michael Lindsay-Hogg said in a statement: "Jean died peacefully in bed looked after by one of her very loving carers.
"You could say we were very close for 60 years. She was as wise and funny as anyone I ever met, as well as being very pretty and kind, and talented as both an actress and writer.
"An instinctively empathetic person who was loved by everyone who met her. We spoke on the phone almost every day for the past 40 years."
Upstairs, Downstairs was a popular television show in the 1970s, depicting the life of an Edwardian family and their servants.
The show was gained wide viewership both in the UK and in the US. Some consider it a forerunner of Downton Abbey.
Marsh played Rose Buck, a stern but lovable maid, winning an Emmy award in 1975.
She also returned to the role when the show was rebooted in 2010.
Film performances included Cleopatra in 1963, Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy in 1972, The Eagle Has Landed in 1976, The Changeling in 1980, Return to Oz in 1985, Willow in 1988, Fatherland in 1994, and Monarch in 2000.
She also continued to act in television, including The Twilight Zone and The Love Boat.
Marsh also played several parts in Dr Who, and was married to Jon Pertwee, the third doctor, from 1955-1960.
She also acted on stage, playing in several Shakespearean dramas with the likes of Laurence Olivier and Judi Dench.
Marsh, who was born in north London in 1934, was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2012.
