It’s a mark of how we don’t share any more, even if the idea of using a receiver someone else has just used now seems barbaric, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes
Upon leaving Oxford, Ros Byam Shaw worked for an antiques dealer in St James's -'a terrifying woman who regularly made me cry'. This was followed by The World of Interiors, where she rose through the ranks to become features editor. She is now a freelance writer and cites 'the fantastic taste' of her grandmother an actress best known for her role as Mrs Bridges in the original Upstairs, Downstairs - as one of her most important influences. She has written a series of books on English design, including Perfect English Townhouse and Perfect English Farmhouse, and has collaborated with Farrow & Ball on their decorating books.
A classic British costume drama, set in the years 1903 to 1930, telling the tale of a society family upstairs and their servants downstairs. No mere soa.