100 Great British TV Shows
by glyntreharne-1 | created - 20 Dec 2010 | updated - 2 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1.
Play for Today (1970–1984)
Episode:
Abigail's Party
(1977)
102 min | Comedy, Drama
Arguably 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.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Alison Steadman, Tim Stern, Janine Duvitski, John Salthouse
Votes: 2,336
2. The Arthur Askey Show (1961– )
30 min | Comedy
Stars: Arthur Askey, June Whitfield, Arthur Mullard, Patricia Hayes
3. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–1960)
Approved | 30 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Robin 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.
Stars: Richard Greene, Victor Woolf, Archie Duncan, Alexander Gauge
Votes: 877
4. Arena (1975– )
60 min | Documentary
Wide-ranging arts program.
Stars: Gavin Millar, Kenneth Tynan, John Walters, Jonathan Miller
Votes: 320
5. Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
TV-PG | 28 min | Comedy
The misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store.
Stars: Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton, Wendy Richard
Votes: 9,226
6. Armchair Theatre (1956–1974)
60 min | Drama
This 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.
Stars: Harry H. Corbett, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Billie Whitelaw, Neil McCallum
Votes: 245
7. The Army Game (1957–1961)
30 min | Comedy
The exploits of a bunch of army conscripts.
Stars: Harry Fowler, Frank Williams, Ted Lune, Alfie Bass
Votes: 96
8. The Arthur Haynes Show (1956–1966)
30 min | Comedy
Hobo 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.
Stars: Arthur Haynes, Nicholas Parsons, Leslie Noyes, Jack Parnell Orchestra
Votes: 43
9. The Avengers (1961–1969)
TV-14 | 50 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners.
Stars: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman, Linda Thorson
Votes: 8,886
10. Big Brother (III) (2000– )
60 min | Documentary, Game-Show, Reality-TV
A 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.
Stars: Marcus Bentley, Davina McCall, Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, Pete Bennett
Votes: 2,939
11. Blankety Blank (1978–2023)
35 min | Game-Show
Comedy game show with celebrity guests and cheap prizes.
Stars: Les Dawson, Terry Wogan, Paul O'Grady, Bradley Walsh
Votes: 277
12. Blockbusters (1980–1982)
TV-G | 30 min | Family, Game-Show
Game 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 ... See full summary »
Stars: Bill Cullen, Bob Hilton, Rich Jeffries, Jolene Rae Harrington
Votes: 118
13. Boyd Q.C. (1956–1964)
30 min | Drama
A barrister named Richard Boyd Q.C. is involved in a variety of cases in London.
Stars: Michael Denison, Charles Leno, Owen Berry, Weyman Mackay
Votes: 22
14. Brideshead Revisited (1981)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The 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.
Stars: Jeremy Irons, Diana Quick, Roger Milner, Phoebe Nicholls
Votes: 8,036
15. The Buccaneers (1956–1957)
30 min | Adventure, Drama
The 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.
Stars: Robert Shaw, Paul Hansard, Brian Rawlinson, Edwin Richfield
Votes: 188
16. Candid Camera (I) (1960–1975)
30 min | Comedy, Reality-TV
Unsuspecting people are placed in confusing, impossible, embarrassing, ridiculous, and hilarious positions, while their reactions are recorded on a hidden camera.
Stars: Allen Funt, Durward Kirby, Sid Raymond, Dorothy Collins
Votes: 477
17. Cluedo (1990–1993)
45 min | Crime, Drama, Game-Show
A 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.
Stars: Chuck Foster, Richard Madeley, James Bellini, Leslie Grantham
Votes: 141
18. Coronation Street (1960– )
TV-PG | 30 min | Drama, Romance
The world's longest-running television soap, Coronation Street focuses on the everyday lives of working-class people in Manchester, England.
Stars: William Roache, Helen Worth, Barbara Knox, Sally Dynevor
Votes: 6,017
19. Cranford (2007–2009)
TV-PG | 469 min | Drama
In 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.
Stars: Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie, Deborah Findlay
Votes: 10,620
20. Crimewatch UK (1984–2017)
50 min | Documentary, Crime
Looking at the range of criminal activity that plagues the United Kingdom, giving vital information on unsolved cases.
Stars: Nick Ross, Sue Cook, David Hatcher, Helen Phelps
Votes: 159
21. Crown Court (1972–2007)
TV-14 | 25 min | Drama
A 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.
Stars: Peter Wheeler, Joseph Berry, Richard Colson, Derek Hockridge
Votes: 347
22. Dad's Army (1968–1977)
30 min | Comedy, War
A ragtag group of Home Guard volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion during World War II.
Stars: Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, John Laurie
Votes: 7,228
23. dinnerladies (1998–2000)
TV-14 | 34 min | Comedy
Comedy about the workers in a factory canteen.
Stars: Victoria Wood, Thelma Barlow, Andrew Dunn, Shobna Gulati
Votes: 2,771
24. Dixon of Dock Green (1955–1976)
Crime, Drama
Constable 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.
Stars: Jack Warner, Peter Byrne, Geoffrey Adams, Arthur Rigby
Votes: 308
25. Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962–1971)
50 min | Drama
Dr. Finlay is a member of a medical practice in the Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.
Stars: Bill Simpson, Andrew Cruickshank, Barbara Mullen, Eric Woodburn
Votes: 142
26. Doctor Who (1963–1989)
TV-PG | 25 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
The 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.
Stars: William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker
Votes: 39,514
27. Double Your Money (1955–1968)
30 min | Game-Show
Quiz 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... See full summary »
Stars: Hughie Green, Barbara Roscoe, Monica Rose, Julie De Marco
Votes: 18
28. Downton Abbey (2010–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Brendan Coyle
Votes: 224,830
29. Emergency-Ward 10 (1957–1967)
30 min | Drama
Set in Oxbridge General Hospital, this soap opera focused equally on the lives and loves of its medical staff and the pressure of their work.
Stars: Jill Browne, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Frederick Bartman, Desmond Carrington
Votes: 70
30. Patrol Car (1954–1956)
30 min | Crime, Drama
Dramatization 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.
Stars: Bruce Seton, Robert Raglan, Philip Dale, Jack Melford
Votes: 23
31. Face to Face (1959–1962)
30 min | Talk-Show
Despite 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.
Stars: John Freeman, John Huston, Carl Gustav Jung, Adlai Stevenson
Votes: 29
32. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,118
33. Fifteen to One (1988–2003)
30 min | Game-Show
Quickfire elimination general knowledge quiz show.
Stars: William G. Stewart, Philip Lowrie, Laura Calland, Gareth McMullen
Votes: 116
34. The Forsyte Saga (1967)
50 min | Drama, Romance
The extended Forsyte family lives a more-than-pleasant upper-middle-class life in Victorian and later Edwardian England. The two central characters are Soames Forsyte and his cousin Jolyon ... See full summary »
Stars: Eric Porter, Margaret Tyzack, Nyree Dawn Porter, Kenneth More
Votes: 1,116
35. Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game (1971–2005)
60 min | Comedy, Game-Show
Making 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 ... See full summary »
Stars: Bruce Forsyth, Anthea Redfern, Larry Grayson, Isla St. Clair
Votes: 203
36. George & Mildred (1976–1979)
30 min | Comedy
George and Mildred Roper have just moved into a middle-class neighborhood.
Stars: Yootha Joyce, Brian Murphy, Norman Eshley, Sheila Fearn
Votes: 1,717
37. Give Us a Clue (1979–2022)
25 min | Game-Show
A British TV show where every week a team of celebrities would play Charades
Stars: Lionel Blair, Michael Parkinson, Liza Goddard, Una Stubbs
Votes: 65
38. Hancock (1961)
25 min | Comedy
Comedian 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.
Stars: Tony Hancock, Hugh Lloyd, June Whitfield, Gwenda Ewen
Votes: 187
39. Have I Got News for You (1990– )
29 min | Comedy, Game-Show, News
Long-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.
Stars: Ian Hislop, Paul Merton, Angus Deayton, Alexander Armstrong
Votes: 5,477
40. Hi-de-Hi! (1980–1988)
60 min | Comedy
Comic 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.'
Stars: Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc, Jeffrey Holland, Felix Bowness
Votes: 1,873
41. The Human Jungle (1963–1964)
60 min | Drama
Dr. Roger Corder, a gifted and compassionate psychologist, treats the mental disorders of his patients through a mix of Freudian and Laingian techniques.
Stars: Herbert Lom, Michael Johnson, Sally Smith, Mary Yeomans
Votes: 179
42. The Invisible Man (1958–1960)
30 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
While 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 ... See full summary »
Stars: Tim Turner, Lisa Daniely, Deborah Watling, Ernest Clark
Votes: 445
43. It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–1981)
30 min | Comedy, War
The 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.
Stars: Windsor Davies, Melvyn Hayes, Donald Hewlett, Don Estelle
Votes: 1,790
44. Ivanhoe (1958–1959)
30 min | Adventure, History
The adventures of Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a noble knight and champion of justice during the rule of the evil Prince John.
Stars: Roger Moore, Robert Brown, Andrew Keir, Martin Wyldeck
Votes: 371
45. The Jewel in the Crown (1984)
TV-14 | 778 min | Drama, History, Romance