Upstairs, Downstairs The Nine Days Wonder (1971–1975) Online
- Original Title :
- The Nine Days Wonder
- Genre :
- TV Episode / Drama
- Year :
- 1971–1975
- Directror :
- Simon Langton
- Cast :
- Simon Williams,Gordon Jackson,Jean Marsh
- Writer :
- Jeremy Paul
- Type :
- TV Episode
- Time :
- 48min
- Rating :
- 7.4/10
It's May 1926 and the national miners' strike becomes a general strike with all public services coming to a grinding halt. There's no sympathy for the strikers at 165 Eaton Place. Above stairs, James in particular sees this as a precursor to a Soviet-style revolution. Below stairs, Mr. Hudson echoes Winston Churchill's belief that of the miners are reds, something Ruby takes objection to as her uncle Len is a miner and she proclaims, he is no red. James volunteers to drive a municipal bus and Frederick goes along to try and keep the peace. Lady Prudence Fairfax offers free lodging to young men who have come down from Oxford to work as strike breakers. Mr. Hudson goes to work as a Special Constable and is incensed when he returns to find that Ruby's Uncle Len and another miner have stopped in to visit. When the strike is called off after 9 days, it's all seen as a waste by those involved.
| Episode complete credited cast: | |||
 | Simon Williams | - | James Bellamy |
 | Gordon Jackson | - | Hudson |
 | Jean Marsh | - | Rose |
 | David Langton | - | Richard Bellamy |
 | Joan Benham | - | Lady Prudence Fairfax |
 | Lesley-Anne Down | - | Georgina Worsley |
 | Christopher Beeny | - | Edward |
 | Gareth Hunt | - | Frederick |
 | Jacqueline Tong | - | Daisy Peel |
 | Jenny Tomasin | - | Ruby |
 | Martin Wimbush | - | Andrew Bouverie |
| Tommy Wright | - | The Picket Leader |
 | John Breslin | - | Len Finch |
| Roy Pattison | - | Arnold Thompson |
The National Strike referred to occurred between May 4 and May 13, 1926. Somewhere between 1.5 and 1.75 million workers joined in solidarity with the coal miners, but Stanley Baldwin's government had nine months to prepare for and beat the labor coalition. The Flying Scotsman, which is discussed as Virginia's means of getting home was actually derailed by strikers.
This episode takes place in May 1926.