The Defoes, a family of female divorce lawyers, are forced to face their past following the return of their estranged father after a 30 year absence.

At the end of World War I, the Bannerman family re-opens the Grand Hotel after a lengthy closure and a costly re-furbishing. The hotel has been in the family for a long time and John Bannerman and his wife Sarah desperately want to make a go of it. Their son Stephen has returned from the wars without any physical harm but still suffers from the mental anguish of seeing so many of his comrades-in-arms falling on the battlefield. When they learn that their accountant has squandered what little money they had left, they must turn to John's brother Marcus, a successful businessman who has eschewed any interest in the hotel over the years but now seems ready to plunge into the business with both feet. He also has an interest in Sarah. For the most part, the staff take pride in their work and are lead by the Hall Porter, Jacob Collins, who lost his son in the war and by Kate Morris one of the chamber maids who, by force of her own personality, is bound to make an impression on anyone who meets her. With the arrival of a permanent guest, Miss Esme Harkness, the cast is set for much drama as their lives, hopes and dream all become intertwined.

In 1936, Sir Hallam Holland (Ed Stoppard) and his pretty young wife Lady Agnes (Keeley Hawes) return from a diplomatic posting abroad and take up residence at 165 Eaton Place, formerly the home of the Bellamy family but vacant for several years. By chance, they ask Rose Buck (Jean Marsh), a long-time servant in the Bellamy household, to find them a suitable staff. In the end, Rose joins them as the housekeeper. The 1930s are a difficult time in England. The Depression has taken its toll with high levels of unemployment. Fascism, which has become popular on the continent in Italy and Germany, is also finding followers in the U.K. with Oswald Mosely's British Union of Fascists. As the new staff begin their daily work, the downstairs family begins to take shape.

The series follows the lives of both the family and the servants in the London townhouse at 165 Eaton Place. Richard Bellamy, the head of the household, is a member of Parliament, and his wife a member of the titled aristocracy. Belowstairs, Hudson, 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.

Two sisters Beatrice (Bee) and Evangeline (Evie) hit rock bottom when their father passes away leaving them in debt. Uneducated they strive hard to find jobs deemed worthy of their new guardian. What they can do ,is make amazing clothes and both dream of being able to be dress makers under the Elliott name. There is of course love problems on top of those money ones, oh to be young in a changing world.

For many years, young Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell) had lived a blissful sheltered life with her widower father (Bill Paterson). However, her world is shaken with the introduction of new acquaintances and situations. Molly becomes friends with a landed gentry family, which includes two brothers with very different temperaments. Meanwhile, her father marries a widow with a daughter close in age to her. Eventually, Molly becomes a trusted confidante for her new friends and family; but the secrets become burdensome, as the gossip begins to circulate about Molly.

Set in the 1930s, Britain is in depression and still scarred by the effects of World War I. Young and passionate Sarah Burton (Anna Maxwell Martin) returns to her conservative home county, bursting with modern ideas. As the new headmistress in South Riding, she inspires her girls, including Lydia Holly (Charlie May-Clark), a scholarship student from the slums, to think for themselves. But not everyone sees eye-to-eye with Miss Burton. She finds a few allies, Joe Astell (Douglas Henshall) being one; but the sparks really start to fly when she crosses paths with Robert Carne (David Morrissey), a haughty landlord whom she despises.

Follows the residents of one English village across the 20th century and their turbulent lives.

The numerous adventures of a friendly staff at a country veterinarian practice in 1930s to 1940s Yorkshire.

It follows the stories and fall out for Maggie Cole, played by French, who doesn't pay attention to the cautionary adage that 'those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'.

To watch