Explore TV Series

A daily BBC Television current affairs programme which specialises in analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians.

Satirical sitcom set in the office of a UK Cabinet minister, Jim Hacker MP, who struggles with Civil Service bureaucracy and political machinations as he tries to get on with government business.

Each self-contained episode features a different kind of horror, varying from witches, werewolves, ghosts, devil worship and voodoo, but also includes non-supernatural themes such as cannibalism, confinement and serial killers.

Two families go head to head as they try to name the post popular answer to survey-based questions posed to 100 people for a chance to win a jackpot prize.

Juliet Bravo was a drama that focused on two female police inspectors, neither of whom were called Juliet Bravo! These two inspectors worked in the small fictional town of Hartley, Lancashire. Jean Darblay was on the scene first and had trouble with her sexist colleagues. However she soon managed to gain their trust and prove a woman could be a successful police officer and housewife. Jean's call sign was Juliet Bravo. When she was promoted and moved on she was replaced by Kate Longton who not only took over the patch but also the headaches that went with it.

Compelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.

Take the High Road was a British soap opera produced by Scottish Television, set in the fictional village of Glendarroch, which started in February 1980 as an ITV daytime soap opera, and was dropped by the network in 1993, although various members of the ITV Network continued to screen the programme, while others had no interest in doing so. The programme has developed a cult following.

Victorian England, the late 1800s: Detective Sergeant Daniel Cribb of the newly formed Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is determined to remove crime from the streets of London using the latest detection methods.

Notable as the first British series to feature a female police officer (predating Juliet Bravo by four months), Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes raises her teenage son while navigating a male-dominated police force following the murder of her police commissioner husband.

Residents of a sheltered accommodation block run by a warden go about their business.

Scientific whizkid Ken Wilberforce thought a robot would be a help around the house, so he built Metal Mickey. But someone interferes - and deep within Mickey's electronic innards, something stirs...

Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom set in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, during 1959 and 1960, and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum amongst others. It aired on the BBC from 1980 to 1988. The series revolved around the lives of the camp's management and entertainers, most of them struggling actors or has-beens. The inspiration was the experience of writers Perry and Croft: after being demobilised from the army, Perry was a Redcoat at Butlin's, Pwllheli during the holiday season. The series gained large audiences and won a BAFTA as Best Comedy Series in 1984. In 2004, it came 40th in Britain's Best Sitcom and in a 2008 poll on Channel 4, 'Hi-de-Hi!" was voted the 35th most popular comedy catchphrase.

This seven-part series highlights scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer from 1938 to 1953 as he develops the Atomic bomb.

BBC Children in Need is the BBC's UK charity. Since 1980 it has raised over £600 million to change the lives of disabled children and young people in the UK. One of the highlights is an annual telethon, held in November and televised on BBC One and BBC One HD from 7:30pm until 2am. "Pudsey Bear" is BBC Children in Need's mascot, whilst Terry Wogan is a long-standing host. BBC Children in Need is one of three high-profile British telethons, although the only charity belonging to the BBC, the other telethons being Red Nose Day and Sport Relief, both supporting the Comic Relief charity. The 2012 appeal took place on Friday 16 November.

Mackenzie is a British drama television series written by Andrea Newman, based on her 1980 novel of the same name. Charts the lives and relationships of three families, covering the years 1955 to 1974.

The Squad is a 1980 ITV children's TV series about the fictional exploits of a group of Police Cadets. The character of Cadet Alan Martin was played by actor Mark Botham who later went on to play PC Danny Sparkes in the TV series Juliet Bravo.

To Serve Them All My Days is a 1980-81 British television drama serial, adapted by Andrew Davies from R. F. Delderfield's 1972 novel of the same name. David Powlett-Jones, a shell-shocked World War I veteran, becomes a teacher at an elite English boarding school, Bamfylde. The drama explores his personal growth, relationships, and evolving views on society over his 20-year career at the school.

The thirteen-part series was based around the lives of the titular Fox family, who lived in London and had gangland connections.

Button Moon is a quirky, popular children's television programme broadcast in the United Kingdom in the 1980s on the ITV Network. Thames Television produced each episode, which lasted ten minutes and featured the adventures of Mr. Spoon who, in each episode, travels to Button Moon in his homemade rocket-ship. All of the characters within the show are based on kitchen utensils, as well as many of the props. Once on Button Moon, which hangs in "blanket sky", they have an adventure, and look through Mr. Spoon's telescope at someone else such as the Hare and the Tortoise, before heading back to their home on 'Junk Planet'. Episodes also include Mr. Spoon's wife, "Mrs. Spoon", their daughter, "Tina Tea-Spoon" and her friend "Eggbert". The series ended in 1988 after 91 episodes.

A 1980 documentary series exploring the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios and its impact on 1920s culture.

In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.

Cowboys is a British sitcom that aired on the ITV network during the early 1980s. The show was created by Peter Learmouth whom would go on to create Granada television sitcom Surgical Spirit and starred Lancastrian Character-actor Roy Kinnear as Joe Jones "whose small building firm hardly seems to do anything right at all" with co-stars David Kelly as 'Wobbly' Ron, "Oscar-Winning Writer" Colin Welland as Geyser and James Wardroper with Debbie Linden and Janine Duvitski. The show is based on the British colloquial use of "cowboy" to describe a workman of doubtful professionalism e.g. a "cowboy builder".

Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figure from the arts or media, would make a journey by train, usually through a country or to a destination to which they had a personal connection. There were four series broadcast on BBC Two between 1980 and 1999, with the shorter series title being used for all but the first. In 2010 a similar series also aired on BBC Two, Great British Railway Journeys.

Detective Inspector Sam Harvey investigates intricate murder cases while contemplating retirement to pursue his passion for writing children's books.

Dramatisations of three different women, three different cases—Constance Kent (episodes 1–8), Mary Blandy (9–14), and Adelaide Bartlett (15–22)—all 18th- and 19th-century murderesses.

The Enigma Files is a British television detective drama that ran for a single series of fifteen episodes in 1980. Detective Chief Inspector Nick Lewis is tasked with investigating unsolved crimes.

Play Your Cards Right is a British television game show based on the American show known as Card Sharks. The gameplay was basically the same as in the American version.

Buccaneer is a short-lived television series, made by the BBC in 1979–80, and broadcast over 13 weeks in April–July 1980. The series, about a developing air freight business, starred Bryan Marshall, Pamela Salem and Clifford Rose, and was produced by Gerard Glaister. The aircraft that "starred" in the series was a Bristol Britannia of Redcoat Air Cargo, registration G-BRAC, which wore the markings of "Redair", the name of the fictional airline in the series. Only one series was produced due to the Bristol Britannia G-BRAC crash near Boston, Mass., on 16 February 1980, shortly after the completion of filming. Of the eight passengers, seven were killed, and only one survived, albeit seriously injured.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Haywards are staunch labour supporters, the Warringtons own a soon to be nationalised coal mine. A riveting story exploring the differing effects of the Labour election victory on working class and upper class life, as well as the disruptive effect of war on the love lives of the younger members of the families.

When John Franklin crash-lands his Wellington bomber in occupied France at the height of the Second World War, he is concerned for the safety of his crew and worried about his own badly injured arm. His crew escapes, but the family of a mill owner risk their lives to hide Franklin in their home until he regains his health. During the following balmy summer months, the pilot's situation is further complicated by his feelings for Francoise, the daughter of the house, but as German patrols move in, his only chance of survival is to flee from France.

The unconventional lives and loves of the family of Lord Alconleigh, dominated by the eccentric, irascible Uncle Matthew. The story encompasses the economic and political crises of the Thirties and the upheavals of the Second World War.

Keep It in the Family is a British sitcom that aired for five series between 1980 and 1983. It is about a likable and mischievous cartoonist, Dudley Rush. Also featured were Dudley's wife, Muriel and their two daughters, Jacqui and Susan. Dudley's literary agent, Duncan Thomas, was also featured. It was made by Thames Television for the ITV network. A remake of Keep It in the Family was produced in the United States under the title Too Close for Comfort, starring Ted Knight.

Grundy is a British television sitcom starring Harry H. Corbett as puritanical newsagent Leonard Grundy who, after a divorce, opposes the idea of a 'permissive society' and befriends the wife of the man who left with his wife. It was initially scheduled for late 1979, but a ten-week industrial dispute and a subsequent heart attack by Corbett caused broadcast to be postponed until 1980.

Drama series about the Ettaswell Brass Band and its musical director H.G. Bestwick.

Set against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.

True stories from the murky world of twentieth-century espionage.

Discontent with his home, his work and his football team, Jess Oakroyd tears up his insurance card and disappears into the night. Intent on going to Nuneaton, he instead finds himself on the ragged edges of showbusiness. We share with him the trials and tribulations of the Good Companions as they tour seaside towns, industrial cities and rural backwaters in their search for success and stardom.

Arnie Cole and his wife Maud are an odd couple, having entered into the state of matrimony for purely practical reasons. However, their marriage of convenience gives way to genuine partnership as Maud becomes caught up in Arnie's ambitions to start his own film production company.

Therese, an attractive young woman married to her sickly cousin Camille, leads an extremely monotonous life until Camille brings home Laurent, an old schoolmate.

The Other 'Arf is a British television ITV sitcom series broadcast from 1980 to 1984. It stars John Standing as upper class Conservative politician Charles Latimer, MP, who begins a relationship with working class cockney Lorraine Watts. The series was produced by ATV, and was screened by ITV.

A sad and sudden event brings to an abrupt end the happiness shared by Mrs Jessop and her younger daughter, Alison, in their cottage by the sea. One room over a laundry in the slums of London is to be a very different life for them both.

Sink or Swim is a BBC TV sitcom starring Peter Davison as Brian Webber, who lives in a flat above a London petrol station, and trying to make his way in the world, thus far with limited success. His girlfriend, Sonia, is a very practical young woman who is passionate only about things like vegetarianism and ecology. When Brian's younger brother, Steve, arrives seeking a place to stay, his lazy, cynical, noisy "Northern lout" attitude disrupts Brian's already messy life. Like Only Fools and Horses, Sink or Swim was filmed in Bristol doubling for London. It ran for three series between 4 December 1980 and 14 October 1982, and was written by Alex Shearer, who later wrote the Nicholas Lyndhurst sitcom 'The Two of Us' (1986-90, LWT). The first two years of production overlapped as Davison was also starring as the Fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, which imposed constraints on recording schedules.

Drama chronicling one week at a Midlands factory.

The father, an ex-military man, sees the 'handwriting on the wall' as to where his country's economy is headed. In an effort to prepare for this, he moves his family of wife, two sons and two daughters out of the city to a secluded old mansion -- a fortress, a castle, as it were. In a confidence he shares only with his youngest son, he acquires stores, goods and foodstuffs, for the tough times he sees coming.

Escape is an American anthology series that aired on the NBC network from February 11 to April 1, 1973. The show was a production of Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited for Universal Television. It aired on Sunday evenings at 10 p.m. Eastern, following the NBC Mystery Movie.

The Amazing Adventures of Morph was a stop animation television showcreated by Aardman Animations which ran from 1980 to 1981. It featured the character Morph

Fancy is an unemployed tramp and, together with his mate, Alastair they try to imagine how the world would be if they were running it.

Asking how you tell what's real and what isn't sounds like an obvious question. But in this series of six programmes, James Burke shows that the more you think about it the harder it is to answer. After all, what have you got, apart from your five senses, to prove those senses are giving you the real thing?

Oh Happy Band! is a situation comedy written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. The series ran for six episodes in 1980 on BBC 1, and featured the last screen appearance of comedian Harry Worth. For musical sequences, the series featured the Aldershot Brass Ensemble. Since broadcast, the series has not been repeated or released on any home consumer media.

Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World is a thirteen part British television series looking at unexplained phenomena from around the world. It was produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network and first broadcast in September 1980. Each program is introduced and book-ended by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in short sequences filmed in Sri Lanka. The bulk of the episodes are narrated by Gordon Honeycombe. The series was produced by John Fanshawe, John Fairley and directed by Peter Jones, Michael Weigall and Charles Flynn. It also featured a unique soundtrack composed by British artist Alan Hawkshaw. In 1981, Book Club Associates published a hardcover book with the same name, authored by Fairley and Welfare, where the contents of the show were further explored. It featured an introduction written by Clarke as well as his remarks at the end of each chapter or topic. In 1985, a paperback of this book was released by HarperCollins Publishers. The series was followed by Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers in 1985 and Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe in 1994.

Seven kids form a theatre troupe, staging plays for family and friends. Seeking recognition and the coveted Seymore Trophy, they utilize their talents while overcoming parental doubts.

The lives of married couple Albert and Ethel Collyer, after Albert, a pottery worker for 50 years, is forced into retirement aged 65.

Trapped between two warring parties, Edwin is a man in a muddle.

Set on the planet Arg, three time travellers are put to the test by the Argonds. To win safe passage back home, they must use logic and lateral thinking.