Jean Marsh dead: Upstairs, Downstairs icon dies after complications with dementia

Upstairs, Downstairs icon Jean Marsh has died aged 90 at her home in London on Sunday. The Emmy-winning star died of complications with dementia, her close friend Michael Lindsay-Hogg said.

Jean starred in the fan-favourite show between 1971 to 1975. She won seven Emmy awards for her part in the series, including an Outstanding Lead Actress award and a Peabody Award.

The series followed the lives of the Bellamy family in Edwardian England - as well as the lives of their servants. It's set in a large townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in Belgravia between the years 1903 and 1930. It also shows the slow decline of the British aristocracy.

Upstairs, Downstairs was the original idea by Jean and Eileen Atkins for a comedy titled Behind the Green Baize Door. It first focused on two housemaids, played by Jean and Eileen, in a large house in the Victoria era. They soon added the family upstairs into their storyline.

In the series, Jean played the role of Rose Buck, the head parlour maid. Along with her work in Upstairs, Downstairs, she also co-created The House of Eliott.

Her film appearances include Cleopatra, Frenzy, The Eagle Has Landed, The Changeling, Return to Oz and Willow.

She is also known for three roles in long-running series , where she played Joan of England in The Crusade, she returned as Sara Kingdom, the companion of the First Doctor and later played a villain opposite the Seventh Doctor.

During the 50s, Jean made many appearances on both American and British TV. She was in an episode of The Twilight Zone where she portrayed a lifelike robot. She was in The Moon and Sixpence opposite Laurence Olivier and Denholm Elliott.

Jean married Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor in 1955 but the couple split in 1960. The actress had relationships with Albert Finney, Kenneth Haigh and film director Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

The star was even appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

Jean was born as Lyndsay Torren Marsh on July 1, 1934, in London. She once said to The Guardian: "If you were very working class in those days, you weren’t going to think of a career in science. You either did a tap dance or you worked in Woolworth’s."

Tributes flooded in for Jean. One wrote: "Saddened to hear of Jean Marsh’s passing. Grew up watching her as the villainous Mrs Croker in The Ghost Hunter, and both laughed and cried at her marvellous creation Rose in Upstairs Downstairs. A great loss." Another wrote: "Our Rose has gone to join Mr Hudson and Mrs Bridges in that great servants hall in the sky, where they will have her cup of cocoa ready and waiting as always..... RIP Jean Marsh 1 July 1934 – 13 April 2025."

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