Explore TV Series

Anthology series of dramatic works.

A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.

Nationwide was a BBC News and current affairs television programme which ran from 9 September 1969 to 5 August 1983. It was broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting. It began on 9 September 1969, running between Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6.00pm, before being extended to five days a week in 1972. From 1976 until 1981 the start time was 5:55pm. The final edition was broadcast on 5 August 1983, and the following October it was replaced by Sixty Minutes. The long-running Watchdog programme began as a Nationwide feature. The light entertainment was quite similar in tone to That's Life!. Eccentric stories featured skateboarding ducks and men who claimed that they could walk on egg shells.. Richard Stilgoe performed topical songs.

The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.

The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show that starred Benny Hill and aired in various incarnations between 15 January 1955 and 30 May 1991 in over 140 countries. The show focused on sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody, and double-entendre. Thames Television cancelled production of the show in 1989 due to declining ratings and large production costs at £450,000 per show.

Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King, Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst. The trio were agents for a fictional special department of Interpol. The head of Department S was Sir Curtis Seretse.

Paul Temple is a British-German television series . It features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve. Paul Temple used overseas locations in France, Malta, Germany and elsewhere.

The Doctors is a British television drama produced by the BBC. A twice-weekly broadcast from November 1969 to June 1971, it was a highly authentic, serious medical drama set in a North London group practice, aiming to depict realistic medical environments without the antiseptic sentimentality often seen in American medical shows of the era.

Softly, Softly: Task Force is a police based drama series which ran on BBC 1 from 1969 to 1976. It was a revamp of Softly, Softly, itself a spin-off from Z-Cars. The change was made partly to coincide with the coming of colour broadcasting to the BBC's main channel BBC1. The programme was due to be called simply Task Force, but reluctant to sacrifice a much-loved brand the BBC compromised this so it became Softly, Softly: Task Force.

On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.

Up Pompeii! is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the Carry On films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two further specials were transmitted in 1975 and 1991. In ancient Pompeii, much-put-upon slave Lurcio navigates the chaotic lives of his owner's family

Sir Kenneth Clark guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark ages to the present day, we consider civilisation's articulations and expressions in some of man's finest works of art.

Sez Les was a British comedy sketch show that starred Les Dawson, produced by Yorkshire Television, airing on ITV from 1969 to 1976. Roy Barraclough also joined from series four and would go on to become Dawson's most recognisable sidekick. The two most notably appeared together in drag as characters Cissie and Ada. John Cleese, who had quit the Monty Python team's television series, was also present from 1974 in two complete seasons. Other cast members included Norman Chappell, Brian Glover, Brian Murphy and Kathy Staff. Music was provided by Syd Lawrence and his orchestra.

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British private detective television series. In the initial episode Hopkirk is murdered during an investigation, but returns as a ghost. Randall is the only main character able to see or hear him, although certain minor characters are also able to do so in various circumstances throughout the series.

Special Branch is a British police drama centred on members of the Special Branch anti-espionage and anti-terrorist department of the London Metropolitan Police.

Hadleigh was a British television series made by Yorkshire Television which originally ran from 1969 to 1976. Developed by Robert Barr, it was a sequel to the writer's earlier Gazette for the same company. The theme music was composed by Alan Moorhouse and, from series 3, Tony Hatch. James Hadleigh played by Gerald Harper, was "the perfect squire, paternalistically careful of his tenantry's welfare, beloved in the village, respected in the council." A "knight in a shining white Aston Martin V8, he sets about correcting local injustices." His wife, from a lower-class background, was played by Hilary Dwyer. The series attracted around 17 million viewers at its peak.

London in the 1870s is gripped in a fever of speculation. The latest figure to emerge at the centre of this scene is Augustus Melmotte, a man reputed to possess a large fortune.

Adam Strange, a retired Home Office criminologist, solves bizarre cases – which have been marked "Open File" by various government departments – with the help of Hamlyn Gynt, Evelyn and Professor Marks. He employs the latest techniques in forensic investigation, which he undertakes in his own laboratory in his flat in Warwick Crescent in the Maida Vale/Little Venice area of Paddington.

In Loving Memory is a British period sitcom set in an undertakers business that starred Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny. A pilot was transmitted in 1969 by Thames Television who rejected the idea before it was finally accepted by Yorkshire Television in 1979 where it further ran for five series between until 1986.

Centres on the lives of three single girls living in bedsit-land in London SW3.

The Secret Service is a 1969 British children's espionage television series, produced by Century 21 / ITC Entertainment for Associated Television, Granada Television, and Southern Television. Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, and produced by David Lane and Reg Hill, it was the eighth and final Century 21 production to feature Supermarionation. Under the direction of Gerry Anderson, who wanted to compensate for the inadequacies of Supermarionation and increase the realism of the format, The Secret Service incorporates footage of live actors for long-distance shots. Father Stanley Unwin, voiced by and resembling the real-life comedian of the same name, is the parish priest of a rural English village. But Unwin is in fact a secret agent for BISHOP, a covert British Intelligence branch that battles international criminal and terrorist threats. Aided by junior operative Matthew Harding, Unwin answers to his London-based superior 'The Bishop', as he would in his public profession.

Sinister Street is a 1969 British television miniseries based on Compton Mackenzie's 1913-14 novel of the same name. Dramatised by Ray Lawler, the six-part serial stars Brett Usher, Gillian Hawser, Kate Lansbury, and Jo Kendall. Being the sole televised adaptation produced, all episodes were wiped and are believed to be lost. A psychological coming-of-age drama, two children, Michael Fane and his sister Stella, are born out of wedlock, something considered taboo at the time, but to rich parents.

The Liver Birds is a British sitcom set in the city of Liverpool, in the north-west of England, which aired on BBC1 from 1969 to 1978, and again in 1996. It was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. These two Liverpudlian writers had met at a local writers club and decided to pool their talents. Having been invited to London by Michael Mills and asked to write about two young women sharing a flat, Mills brought in sitcom expert Sydney Lotterby to work with the writing team. Lotterby had previously worked with Eric Sykes, Sheila Hancock and on The Likely Lads. Carla Lane in fact wrote most of the episodes, Taylor co-writing only the first two series. The pilot was shown as an episode of Comedy Playhouse, the BBC's breeding ground for sitcoms, in April 1969.

The Flaxton Boys is a British historical children's television series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, created by Sid Waddell. Four seasons—covering a specific period: 1854, during the Crimean War (series 1), 1890 (series 2), 1928 (series 3), and 1945, in the aftermath of WWII (series 4)—explore four generations of young men and their experiences at Flaxton Hall in Yorkshire.

Q... was a surreal television comedy sketch show from Spike Milligan which ran from 1969 to 1982 on BBC2. There were six series in all, the first five numbered from Q5 to Q9, and a final series titled There's a Lot of It About. The first and third series ran for seven episodes, and the others for six episodes, each of which was 30 minutes long. Various reasons have been suggested for the title. One possibility is that it was inspired by the project to construct the Cunard liner QE2, launched in September 1967, which was dubbed Q4. Another theory is that Milligan was inspired by the BBC 6-point technical quality scale of the time, where "Q5" was severe degradation to picture or sound, and "Q6" was complete loss of sound or vision. This was extended by some engineering departments to a 9-point scale, finishing at "Q9". According to Milligan's autobiography, the final series was renamed There's a Lot of It About after the BBC felt the public might find Q10 too confusing.

Chronicles the melancholically funny lives of the Clangers, a flutey-voiced family of woolen, knitted aliens living below the surface of a knobbly little planet far out in space. Their misadventures brought them into contact with such unlikely creatures as the Soup Dragon, the Froglets, the Iron Chicken and the Glow Buzzers.

The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder is based on a character created by Edgar Wallace in a series of 1925 short stories of the same name, Hugh Burden played the titular character – A mild-mannered investigator with the Department of Public Prosecutions.

An anthology series based on the varied stories by W. Somerset Maugham divided into three categories: "Rule Britannia" about colonial life, "Women of the World" which focus on female characters, and "Victims of Fate".

Never trust a man whoever he is. This is the bitter lesson learned by Mary MacNeil in her relationships with three different men: her father, a mendacious womaniser; a smooth-talking office flirt, Cornelius; and an ageing barrister, Emlyn, who is enchanted by Mary's youthful vitality and charm. Only one of these men will win her heart in the end... Featuring rare television performances from Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Paul Scofield, this trilogy of plays forms a dramatic and controversial study in male behaviour. Differs slightly from the omnibus version that aired 3 Jan 1969 on NBC (US).

Adaptation of Chaucer's tales, told by pilgrims on their journey from London to Canterbury.

The First Churchills is a 1969 twelve-part BBC television serial starring John Neville as John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and Susan Hampshire as his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. Written and produced by Donald Wilson, and directed by David Giles, the series is notable as being the first programme shown on PBS's long-running Masterpiece series in the United States.

An ATV variety series starring Tom Jones, featuring many show business legends of the time, which ran from 1969 to 1971. It was exported to the United States by ITC Entertainment and was networked there by ABC, earning Jones a nomination at the Golden Globes. The show also featured comedy sketches by the Ace Trucking Company improvisational group, featuring Fred Willard and Patti Deutsch, among others.

Counterstrike is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC in 1969. The series starred Jon Finch as an alien living on Earth as a human named Simon King. He was assigned to live there to prevent an alien invasion of the planet. The programme lasted for one series of ten episodes, but only nine episodes were actually transmitted. The screening of the sixth episode, "Out of Mind", was canceled on the day it was due to be shown due to a late schedule change, being replaced by a documentary on the Kray brothers who had been refused leave to appeal against their prison sentences on that same day. For reasons that will probably never be known, "Out of Mind" was never rescheduled; it was subsequently wiped from the BBC Archives and has never been screened – thus making it possibly one of the rarest pieces of British science fiction television. The first four episodes – "King's Gambit", "Joker's One", "On Ice" and "Nocturne" – still exist in the BBC Archives as 16mm Black & White Film telerecordings, while the remaining five transmitted instalments – "Monolith", "The Lemming Syndrome", "Backlash", "All That Glisters" and "The Mutant" – are listed as missing by the Lost Shows website.

Weekly arts magazine

Trevor Philpott covers various topics from a German Business to a Beer Battle to the workings of Multinationals.

Two in Clover is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television for two series from 1969 to 1970 on ITV. It starred Sid James and Victor Spinetti and was written by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, and produced and directed by Alan Tarrant. The first series was made in black and white and the second series was made in colour. Frustrated office workers Sid Turner and Vic Evans decide to leave behind their nine-to-five lifestyle for the simpler life of living in the countryside and running a farm.

A British sitcom created by and starring Rodney Bewes, Bewes co-wrote and produced the series with Derrick Goodwin. The show proved popular and regularly made the TV ratings top ten throughout its three year run. There were 26 episodes, including the three Christmas specials, all three broadcast as part of All Star Comedy Carnival. The fourth and final series was broadcast as a sequel entitled Albert!, which ran for a further series of seven episodes. Series 1 was produced by Thames Television, while the subsequent series 2-4 were produced by Yorkshire Television.

Castle Haven was a British soap opera, set around the residents of two Victorian seaside houses that had been converted into a series of flats and bedsits. It was first broadcast on 4 April 1969, but cancelled just under a year later on 26 March 1970 100 episodes were produced, but it is believed that only fifteen minutes of the series is still in existence; the rest were wiped after transmission, as per the (then commonplace) procedure of wiping videotape.

Six of Britain's top television playwrights were given the opportunity to write the plays they had always wanted to write.

Crime drama series detailing the cases of Detective Inspector Gamble and Detective Sergeant Vicky Hicks working for the Fraud Squad in the Midlands. Gamble is very much his own man, all too often doing things his own way, much to the frustration of his boss Superintendent Proud. Gamble’s sidekick Vicky is often little more than a glorified secretary for too much of the time but as the series goes on she does more of a chance to shine.

Foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, who secretly leads a double life as the daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution, fights to save his brother-in-law while his wife is manipulated by the villainous Chauvelin into helping capture him, unaware of her husband's true identity.

Hark at Barker is a 1969 British programme combining elements of sitcom and sketch show, which starred Ronnie Barker. It was made for the ITV network by LWT. Each show began with a spoof news item read by Barker as a continuity announcer. He would then introduce the main part of the programme, a lecture to be given by Lord Rustless on a different topic each week from his stately home, Chrome Hall. Helped and hindered by Rustless' secretary Bates, his Butler Badger, his bad-tempered Cook, his incoherent gardener Dithers and his buxom, near-mute maid Effie, these lectures invariably degenerated into farce, and were frequently interrupted by comic sketches on film or videotape which also starred Barker in various roles. Barker reprised the role of Lord Rustless in the BBC series His Lordship Entertains, and played very similar characters in Futtock's End and the Two Ronnies specials The Picnic and By the Sea.

Tough cop Detective Chief Superintendent Cradock is assigned to track down and bring to justice the criminals behind the daring theft of five and half million pounds worth of gold bullion from an airfield in the South of England.

An offbeat revue of quickfire sketches in the 'Cribbins style', this fast-moving mixture of comedy and song (including chart hits Hole in the Ground, Gossip Calypso, and Right Said Fred) featured a gallery of outrageous characters in a myriad of seemingly inexhaustible situations! Bank clerk, burglar, tramp, librarian, cowboy and even spaceman – Cribbins is all these, and many more!

The Dustbinmen is a British television sitcom made by Granada Television for ITV, which starred Bryan Pringle, Trevor Bannister, Graham Haberfield, and Tim Wylton. The show was a spin-off from a one-off 90-minute TV film "There's a Hole in Your Dustbin, Delilah" written by Jack Rosenthal and directed by Michael Apted. This led to the sitcom which ran for three series between 1969 and 1970. Rosenthal wrote all of the episodes of the first two series.

Curry and Chips is a British sitcom broadcast in 1969 which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network. Set on a factory floor of 'Lillicrap Ltd', it starred a blacked up Spike Milligan as an Asian immigrant who went by the name of Kevin O'Grady. It also featured Eric Sykes as the foreman, Norman Rossington as the shop steward, and other regulars were Kenny Lynch, and Sam Kydd. The series was written by Till Death Us Do Part writer Johnny Speight, but based on idea by Milligan. It was the first LWT sitcom to be made in colour, and all episodes still exist.

Three teenagers discover a mysterious set of owl and flower-patterned dinner plates in the attic and the magical ancient legend of the "Mabinogion" comes to life once again in their Welsh valley.

Eccentric and absent-minded inventor Professor Branestawm's often-disastrous inventions lead him into comical scrapes, much to the exasperation of his housekeeper, Mrs Flittersnoop.

The Complete And Utter History Of Britain was a 1969 television comedy sketch show. It was created and written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones between the two series of Do Not Adjust Your Set. It was produced for and broadcast by London Weekend Television but was not shown in other ITV regions. The idea was to replay history as if television had been around at the time. Sketches included interviews with the vital characters in the dressing-room after the Battle of Hastings, Samuel Pepys presenting a TV chat-show and an estate agent trying to sell Stonehenge to a young couple looking for their first home. Seven programmes were written and produced, but LWT amalgamated the first two episodes into a single "stronger" episode, resulting in a six-part series. For many years the entire series was believed to have been wiped. However, copies of the first two episodes have now been found, as have the complete first two episodes as produced. As of June 2008, none are known to have been repeated on television or released on DVD. Terry Jones has expressed dissatisfaction with the show, complaining after a showing of surviving episodes that the pacing was off and the soundtrack all wrong.

These four made-for-TV Christmas Carry On spectaculars feature favourite stories and timely traditions, including Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol, pantomime and much more, in the only way the Carry On team know how... pure slapstick comedy and scripts full of trademark innuendo!

A series of plays, each reflecting an individual dilemma - sometimes serious, occasionally humorous - and each with a happy ending.

Six standalone comedy plays by writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, with themes including farce, fantasy and murder. Featured stars include Leslie Phillips and Bob Monkhouse, while there's also another collaboration with Harry H. Corbett.

Mary, Mungo and Midge features the adventures of a girl called Mary, her dog Mungo, and her pet mouse Midge, who live in a tower block in a busy town.

Narrated by Lord Mountbatten himself, this is a positive feast of history and archive material, some of it part of Mountbatten's personal collection. A masterpiece in history.

Chigley is the third and final stop-motion children's television series in Gordon Murray's Trumptonshire sequence. Production details are identical to Camberwick Green. As in Camberwick Green and Trumpton, the action centres around a small community, in this case the fictitious village or hamlet of Chigley, near Camberwick Green in Trumptonshire. Chigley is more of an industrial area, and according to Gordon Murray, the three communities are at the corners of an equilateral triangle. A digitally restored version of the series from the rediscovered original film masters emerged in 2012.