100 Great British TV Shows
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- DirectorMike LeighStarsAlison SteadmanTim SternJanine DuvitskiArguably the most famous edition of Play For Today, and one of the most beloved, as Mike Leigh directs a comedy of manners. Middle-class suburbia gets to reveal its darker side over the course of an increasingly uncomfortable drinks party.
- StarsRichard GreeneVictor WoolfArchie DuncanRobin of Loxley, otherwise known as Robin Hood, and his band of Merry Men protect England from the evil machinations of Prince John while King Richard the Lionheart is away fighting in the Crusades.
- CreatorAnthony HaasDuke EriksonBernard MacMahonStarsGavin MillarKenneth TynanJohn WaltersWide-ranging arts program.
- CreatorJeremy LloydDavid CroftStarsMollie SugdenJohn InmanFrank ThorntonThe misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store.
- StarsHarry H. CorbettPaul Whitsun-JonesBillie WhitelawThis show was a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and from mid-1968 by Thames Television.
- StarsHarry FowlerFrank WilliamsTed LuneThe exploits of a bunch of army conscripts.
- StarsArthur HaynesNicholas ParsonsLeslie NoyesHobo Haynes and a series of other working class characters fight back against the authorities and anybody else who might look down on them. Many musical acts of the time also appear to add a little variety to proceedings.
- CreatorSydney NewmanStarsPatrick MacneeDiana RiggHonor BlackmanA quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners.
- StarsMarcus BentleyDavina McCallAisleyne Horgan-WallaceA group of contestants move into the Big Brother house, where they nominate each other to be evicted by public vote. The last person remaining will take home a large cash prize, while the others take home nothing.
- StarsLes DawsonTerry WoganPaul O'GradyComedy game show with celebrity guests and cheap prizes.
- StarsBill CullenBob HiltonRich JeffriesGame show which sought to resolve the question, "Are two heads better than one?" A single contestant competed against a team of two (related in some way but not married) to answer general knowledge questions, which allowed them to claim hexagonal boxes on a large five-by-four game board if they answered correctly. Each box had a different letter of the alphabet on it, and each question had a one-word answer beginning with whichever letter was selected by a player. The single contestant had to complete a vertical path on the board to win (a minimum of four red boxes), while the two-person team had to finish a horizontal path on the board (a minimum of five white boxes). Oftentimes, more than the minimum number of boxes were required to win a game. The first team to win a two-out-of-three-game match became the champion and played the "Gold Rush" for a chance to win $5,000 in cash. The same game board was used only with each box having one letter or as much as five initials to a phrase, title, name, etc. The champion, whether it be the single player or one member of the two-person team, had 60 seconds to make a horizontal connection across the board. Each clue answered correctly turned the box in question gold, while incorrect answers or passes turned a box black, making it a block that a contestant had to work around. If the champion failed to make such connection, he/she won $100 per correct answer. Teams continued until winning 10 games or being defeated. The 10-game maximum was eventually extended to 20 games, allowing previously-retired champions to be brought back to the show.
- StarsMichael DenisonCharles LenoOwen BerryA barrister named Richard Boyd Q.C. is involved in a variety of cases in London.
- StarsJeremy IronsDiana QuickRoger MilnerThe life, friendships and romances of the protagonist Charles Ryder-including his friendship with the Flytes, a family of wealthy English Catholics who live in a palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle.
- StarsRobert ShawPaul HansardBrian RawlinsonThe Crown takes Tempest's stronghold. The ex-pirate wins a pardon and becomes a privateer. He and Deputy Gov. Beamish fight Spanish raiders despite their unease. They defend the Caribbean.
- StarsAllen FuntDurward KirbySid RaymondUnsuspecting people are placed in confusing, impossible, embarrassing, ridiculous, and hilarious positions, while their reactions are recorded on a hidden camera.
- StarsChuck FosterRichard MadeleyJames BelliniA unique game show in which celebrities try to deduce which of the classic characters commited a murder by watching a short film and interviewing the suspects.
- CreatorTony WarrenStarsWilliam RoacheHelen WorthBarbara KnoxThe world's longest-running television soap, Coronation Street focuses on the everyday lives of working-class people in Manchester, England.
- CreatorSue BirtwistleSusie ConklinStarsJudi DenchImelda StauntonJulia McKenzieIn the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip, and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.
- StarsNick RossSue CookDavid HatcherLooking at the range of criminal activity that plagues the United Kingdom, giving vital information on unsolved cases.
- StarsPeter WheelerJoseph BerryRichard ColsonA courtroom drama in which each case is usually presented in three episodes. At the end of the third episode, a jury of "ordinary people" comes to a verdict on the evidence presented.
- CreatorJimmy PerryStarsArthur LoweJohn Le MesurierClive DunnA ragtag group of Home Guard volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion during World War II.
- StarsVictoria WoodThelma BarlowAndrew DunnComedy about the workers in a factory canteen.
- CreatorTed WillisStarsJack WarnerPeter ByrneGeoffrey AdamsConstable George Dixon and his colleagues at the Dock Green police station in the East End of London deal with petty crime, successfully controlling it through common sense and human understanding.
- CreatorA.J. CroninStarsBill SimpsonAndrew CruickshankBarbara MullenDr. Finlay is a member of a medical practice in the Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.
- CreatorDonald WilsonSydney NewmanStarsWilliam HartnellPatrick TroughtonJon PertweeThe adventures in time and space of the Doctor, a Time Lord who changes appearance and personality by regenerating when near death, and is joined by companions in battles against aliens and other megalomaniacs.
- StarsHughie GreenBarbara RoscoeMonica RoseQuiz show in which every time a contestant answers a question correctly on their chosen subject their prize money doubles, starting at £1 upto £32. If they get a question wrong however they lose everything. The best player then goes on to a £1000 Treasure Trail.
- CreatorJulian FellowesStarsHugh BonnevillePhyllis LoganElizabeth McGovernA chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
- StarsJill BrowneCharles 'Bud' TingwellFrederick BartmanSet in Oxbridge General Hospital, this soap opera focused equally on the lives and loves of its medical staff and the pressure of their work.
- StarsBruce SetonRobert RaglanPhilip DaleDramatization of murder investigations and other criminal cases that Detective Superintendent Robert Fabian, a real-life Scotland Yard Inspector and the host of the show, worked on.
- StarsJohn FreemanJohn HustonCarl Gustav JungDespite the title, the face of interviewer John Freeman is rarely seen - instead, the camera scrutinises his guests as they answer probing questions of an existentialist nature.
- StarsJohn CleesePrunella ScalesAndrew SachsHotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
- StarsWilliam G. StewartPhilip LowrieLaura CallandQuickfire elimination general knowledge quiz show.
- StarsEric PorterMargaret TyzackNyree Dawn PorterSpanning decades, the saga contrasts obsessive Soames, clinging to wife Irene, and Jolyon, leaving for his kids' governess. Their diverging paths intertwine, bringing highs and lows to the upper-class Forsyte clan.
- StarsBruce ForsythAnthea RedfernLarry GraysonMaking a fool of the contestants as they try to copy professionals who have strange jobs. To win some prizes the contestants play for points until there is a winner. They then watch prizes go by on a conveyor belt past where they are sat,and if they can remember any of them when asked they win those prizes.
- StarsYootha JoyceBrian MurphyNorman EshleyGeorge and Mildred Roper have just moved into a middle-class neighborhood.
- StarsLionel BlairMichael ParkinsonLiza GoddardA British TV show where every week a team of celebrities would play Charades
- StarsTony HancockHugh LloydJune WhitfieldComedian Tony Hancock stars, in this BBC situation comedy TV series, as Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living in East Cheam.
- StarsIan HislopPaul MertonAngus DeaytonLong-running satirical news quiz featuring regular team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. Originally chaired by Angus Deayton, the series has adopted "guest hosts" since 2002.
- CreatorDavid CroftJimmy PerryStarsPaul ShaneRuth MadocJeffrey HollandComic goings-on in this series. Ted's the camp comic but is always on the lookout for a way to make money. Gladys has her eye on the boss, and Peggy wants to swap her mop and cleaner's outfit for a 'yellow coat.'
- StarsHerbert LomMichael JohnsonSally SmithDr. Roger Corder, a gifted and compassionate psychologist, treats the mental disorders of his patients through a mix of Freudian and Laingian techniques.
- StarsTim TurnerLisa DanielyDeborah WatlingWhile working on an invisibility formula, British scientist Dr. Peter Brady (Tim Turner) suffers a tragic accident which turns him invisible. Unfortunately, there is no antidote, so while working on a method to regain his visibility, he undertakes missions for his government stopping bad guys.
- StarsWindsor DaviesMelvyn HayesDonald HewlettThe comic adventures of a group of misfits who form an extremely bad concert party touring the hot and steamy jungles of Burma entertaining the troops during World War II.
- StarsRoger MooreRobert BrownAndrew KeirThe adventures of Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a noble knight and champion of justice during the rule of the evil Prince John.
- StarsTim Pigott-SmithGeraldine JamesWendy MorganThe sweeping drama about the ruling and ruled classes of WWII India, trying amidst the turmoil to come to terms with the drastic changes taking place around them, knowing that their lives will never be the same again.
- StarsDavid JacobsPete MurrayAlan FreemanA panel of notable personalities rate the latest pop records.
- CreatorIan Kennedy MartinStarsDavid EllisonNoel CollinsStephanie TurnerInspector Jean Darblay is assigned to Hartley, Lancashire. Initially facing scepticism from sergeants Joe Beck and George Parrish, she gradually earns their respect and admiration as their new female boss at the police station.
- StarsMargaret LockwoodJohn StoneJohn BryansCases of a female barrister.
- CreatorFred RobinsonStarsPeggy MountDavid KossoffBarbara Mitchell66 Sycamore Street is home to the Larkins. Alf refuses to believe that he's henpecked. Ada's determined to make sure that he is.
- CreatorRoy ClarkeStarsPeter SallisJane FreemanKathy StaffThree old men from Yorkshire who have never grown up face the trials of their fellow town citizens and everyday life and stay young by reminiscing about the days of their youth and attempting feats not common to the elderly.
- CreatorGeorges SimenonStarsRupert DaviesEwen SolonHelen ShinglerTelevisations of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon.
- CreatorBrian CookeJohnnie MortimerStarsRichard O'SullivanPaula WilcoxSally ThomsettSitcom exploring the trials and tribulations created by one man and two women flat-sharing in the 70s.
- CreatorBill WrightStarsMagnus MagnussonCharles KeyPaul PonderA long-running series in which members of the public sit in a black chair to answer questions on a specialist subject and general knowledge.
- CreatorRonald ChesneyRonald WolfeStarsThora HirdFreddie FrintonBarbara MillerThe humorous ups and downs of a middle-aged married couple.
- StarsEric MorecambeErnie WiseAnn HamiltonThe Morecambe & Wise Show was a long running and massively popular sketch series starring British comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, plus a string of top-name international celebrity guests (of a bygone age), like André Prévin.
- StarsDiana RiggJames WilbyDavid McCallumA British yuppie couple have a seemingly idyllic existence. But there is one troubling factor in their lives - the husband's eccentric and sometimes difficult mother. Her odd behavior manifests itself in a series of incidents involving her ex-husband, a concert musician, and her ex-husband's new wife, an artist. Flashbacks reveal bits of her troubled past. Little by little, the young couple's life begins to fall apart as the mother begins to act out her feelings of intense jealousy in the form of revenge, implicating a dear old friend, and leading to murder.
- DirectorRudolph CartierStarsPeter CushingAndré MorellYvonne MitchellIn a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
- StarsRaymond FrancisEric LanderJohnny BriggsTales of Scotland Yard centering on a detective team. A sort of halfway house between "Dixon of Dock Green" and "'Z' Cars." The detectives are still 1950s-style with good elocution and authoritative manner. A range of classic cases but gritty it isn't. Each case centres on one crime and one criminal.
- StarsCherry WainerThe Vernons GirlsRed PriceTop musicians of the time perform on this 1950s variety show.
- StarsRichard WilsonAnnette CrosbieDoreen MantleVictor Meldrew is a retiree who attracts bad luck. If he's not driving his long suffering wife Margaret crazy with his constant moaning, he's fighting with neighbours.
- StarsRonnie BarkerDavid JasonLynda BaronArkwright is a miserly and eccentric shopkeeper with a stammer, who longs to marry his lifelong love Nurse Gladys. He runs a small town grocery store along with his errand boy and nephew, Granville and a particularly dangerous till.
- StarsHughie GreenBob MonkhouseNational Philharmonic OrchestraA long-running ITV talent show hosted by Hughie Green, providing showcases for names such as Paul Daniels and Frank Carson. The series was revived on the BBC in the 1980s, hosted by Bob Monkhouse and former winner Les Dawson.
- CreatorDaniel FoggoCimran ShahStarsFred EmeryDavid DimblebyRichard LindleyLong-running factual programme reporting on all aspects of life in Britain.
- DirectorGavin MillarStarsVictoria WoodJulie WaltersCelia ImrieTwo long-separated sisters are brought together by a family-reunion TV show. At first they don't get on, but then they warm to each other and find common purpose avoiding the press and finding the third person in their lives' stories.
- StarsRonnie BarkerBrian WildeFulton MackayThe prison life of Fletcher, a criminal serving a five-year sentence, as he strives to bide his time, keep his record clean, and refuses to be ground down by the prison system.
- StarsReginald TateIsabel DeanHugh KellyFollows the first manned space flight from Australia. In its return to Earth, from the crew of 3, only Victor Carroon, is still aboard. Examinations reveal that something attacked the crew as they were on course back to Earth.
- StarsJohn RobinsonMonica GreyHugh GriffithProfessor Quatermass is trying to perfect a dangerously unstable nuclear-powered rocket engine. After a disastrous test firing in Australia, his soon-to-be son-in-law, Captain John Dillon, draws the Professor's attention to a strange hollow meteorite which interrupted an Army Training exercise. Quatermass and Dillon investigate, and discover a vast government production plant which has some connection with the meteorites. After coming in contact with the noxious gas contained inside the meteorites, Dillon is taken away by the plant's security guards. When Quatermass presses this issue with an old civil service acquaintance, he learns that the plant is supposedly making synthetic food. Both men learn that this is untrue, and that the true products of the plant will threaten the world itself.
- StarsAndré MorellCec LinderAnthony BushellA team of scientists search for the origin and purpose of a mysterious capsule found on a building site.
- CreatorRonald ChesneyRonald WolfeStarsPeter JonesMiriam KarlinReg VarneyFenner Fashions makes women's clothing. Reg Turner (Reg Varney) is the downtrodden foreman on the shop floor. The machinists are all women, led by their union rep, Paddy Fleming (Miriam Karlin). The stories are all about the schemes the machinists get up to to make life hard for the boss, Henry Fenner (Peter Jones). The foreman's life is also made hard by the women, who have him around their little finger. Each week there is a special order to complete, and the machinists make heavy work of things.
- StarsSandy SarjeantCathy McGowanMick JaggerLondon based British Rock/Pop tv show broadcast every Friday night during its run until 23/12/1966. Presented by Keith Fordyce & Cathy McGowan. Featuring many performances by The Beatles,Rolling Stones & The Who amongst other 60's greats.
- StarsLeonard RossiterDon WarringtonFrances de la TourPopular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly, racist landlord Rigsby. In each episode, his conceits are debunked by his long-suffering tenants.
- StarsCharlotte CornwellJulie CovingtonRula LenskaThree actresses, lumbered by useless boyfriends, are plucked from a theatrical chorus-line to form a manufactured rock group: the 'Little Ladies'.
- StarsCaroline AherneCraig CashSue JohnstonA British sitcom about the everyday life of a working-class family in Northwest England: watching telly, smoking, drinking, and bickering.
- StarsEdgar LustgartenMichael HordernKenneth BendaSeries of courtroom dramas introduced by criminologist Edgar Lustgarten.
- StarsGeorge MoonPeter WilliamsJohn HorsleyLong-running series, mostly lost, about the Shadow Squad detective agency run by former Scotland Yard detective Don Carter and his cockney assistant Ginger Smart.
- StarsMichael CrawfordMichele DotriceJessica ForteAccident-prone Frank Spencer fails to navigate the simplest tasks of daily life, while also trying to look after his wife and baby.
- StarsRonnie CorbettBarbara LottWilliam MooreA 41-year-old man is unable to leave home because of his domineering mother.
- StarsWilfrid BrambellHarry H. CorbettFrank ThorntonBritish sitcom about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in London. The intergenerational divide between the miserly Steptoe and his ambitious son results in comedy, drama, and tragedy.
- StarsHelen CherryWilliam LucasDavid GarthScientists discover a formula giving access to the fourth dimension - the unification of time and space - and, with others, are transported to the abstractly arid Planet X.
- StarsAlan DedicoatCraig Revel HorwoodTess DalyA dance competition where celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. Who is kicked out of the competition each week is decided by the judges' scores and viewer votes.
- StarsBruce ForsythTommy TrinderNorman VaughanA revival of the British variety show Tonight at the London Palladium, it ran from 28 October 1973 to 28 October 1974.
- StarsMaggie SmithJulie WaltersPatricia RoutledgeSix monologues tell the stories of six different repressed souls: a man dominated by his mother, a vicar's wife, an inveterate letter writer, a hopeful actress, a recently widowed woman, and an elderly shut-in.
- StarsJulie WaltersPenelope WiltonEileen AtkinsSix monologues: a lonely store clerk, a covetous antiques dealer, a reformed pedophile, a wife of a dangerous criminal, a murderer's friend, and a confused older woman.
- CreatorBrian ClemensAnthony SkeneMichael ZagorStarsDonna MillsGary CollinsDerek Francis"Thriller" was an anthology series of self-contained episodes, with genres ranging from murder mystery to suspense to psychological and supernatural horror.
- CreatorJohnny SpeightStarsWarren MitchellAnthony BoothUna StubbsA working-class Cockney bigot with a biased and experienced opinion of everything shares them bluntly and carelessly.
- StarsDavid JasonBruce AlexanderJohn LyonsDI Jack Frost is an unconventional policeman with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice. Sloppy, disorganized, and disrespectful, he attracts trouble like a magnet.
- StarsSarah LawsonLaurence PayneRonan O'CaseyUnexplained and gruesome deaths among climbers of the Trollenberg are investigated.
- StarsRonnie BarkerRonnie CorbettThe Fred Tomlinson SingersThis long-running BBC comedy show consisted of sketches and humourous musical routines.
- StarsJeremy PaxmanRoger TillingBamber GascoigneAmol Rajan hosts this trivia quiz show where colleges from around the UK compete against each other. Originally presented by Bamber Gascoigne from 1962 to 1987, and Jeremy Paxman from 1994 to 2023.
- StarsVictoria WoodJulie WaltersCelia ImrieSketch-based show starring Victoria Wood, Dame Julie Walters, and many others. Included regular items such as "Acorn Antiques" with Julie as Mrs. Overall and a regular advice slot from Agony Aunt Kitty (Patricia Routledge).
- CreatorFintan CoyleCathy DunningStarsAnne RobinsonJon BriggsAdam WoodyattBritish general knowledge quiz show which spawned imitations around the world, notably in the USA.
- StarsJames BolamRodney BewesBrigit ForsythReturning from the Army, Terry finds his best mate Bob is marrying Thelma, Terry's former partner. Their lives intertwine as Terry reintegrates, challenging the relationships between the three.
- StarsEamonn AndrewsIsobel BarnettGilbert HardingA panel of celebrities trying to guess what a person does for a living, or figure out who a mystery guest is. This is the version for the United Kingdom.
- CreatorSteven KnightStarsChris TarrantJeremy ClarksonJudith KeppelThe original British version of the popular quiz show, that became a worldwide phenomenon.
- CreatorDavid ButlerStarsJerome WillisMona BruceDenys HawthorneDrama inside a women's prison.
- StarsBob MonkhouseTom EdwardsPaul DanielsGeneral-knowledge quiz show.
- StarsJames EllisJohn SlaterDouglas FieldingA gritty drama which follows the work of the police force in the fictional town of Newtown in the North of England.