Nearly 45 years ago three comedians – one tall, one middling, one short – stood in a line and impersonated the English class system for a sketch on the BBC's The Frost Programme. The upper-class man, played by John Cleese, said: "I have got innate breeding, but I have not got any money. So sometimes I look up to him," meaning the middle-class man. The middle-class man, played by Ronnie Barker, said: "I still look up to him, because although I have money, I am vulgar. But I am not as vulgar as him [the lower-class man]. So I still look down on him."
And the lower-class man, played by Ronnie Corbett, said: "I know my place. I look up to them both. But while I am poor, I am industrious, honest and trustworthy. Had I the inclination, I could look down on them."
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Downton Abbey: a drama of very English distinction
