Boasting an amazing selection of the most watched, most influential and most highly acclaimed programmes ever made, The 50 Greatest Television Dramas presents a long overdue assessment of the rich heritage television drama has to offer. Channel 4 invited over 200 of Britain's top television drama professionals – writers, directors, producers and commissioners – to take part in an exclusive poll to discover what they consider the finest dramas ever produced.
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of 'passive resistance', endeavouring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed.
Eccentric consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson battle to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy England.
An American actor in England tries to find love and work.
Members of a Yorkshire branch of the Women's Institute cause controversy when they pose nude for a charity calendar.
An American gets a ticket for an audience participation game in London, then gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. As an international plot unravels around him, he thinks it's all part of the act.
Not quite a religious film, not quite a coming-of-age story, not quite a kiddie flick, and not quite a supernatural horror movie, Taliesin Jones's identity crisis nonetheless reveals a sweet examination of one child and his thoughts on God.
A young boy thinks he's got a lookalike around him, but nobody believes him. Then, he meets Thomas and they switch homes.
In 1950, a man returns home to the UK from India after the death of his wife to build bridges with his son, but instead ends up building an elaborate model railway.
Griff Rhys Jones stars as a writer on a popular television soap opera who falls in love with the show's leading lady but finds himself unable to break his ties with his ex-wife and their children.
A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.
A drunken playboy stands to lose a wealthy inheritance when he falls for a woman that his family doesn't like.
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.
A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
A younger boy falls in love with a tragic girl who flirts with, and manipulates, her older suitors in 1800s Russia.
Ocean Voyagers explores the familiar themes of motherhood and parenting in a world as unfamiliar as it is breathtaking. Featuring a precocious newborn humpback calf and his enormous 40 ton mother, we are taken on a journey of discovery into their world.
Based upon the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.
A Dickensian mock-Gothic tale of resourceful children, evil governesses, forged wills, cruel orphanages, and goodness triumphant set against an isolated country house, in an alternate 19th century where savage packs of wolves roam the snowbound countryside.
There is a new criminal mastermind at large (Professor Moriarty) and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil and lack of conscience may give him an advantage over the detective.
As her surroundings are invaded by outsiders, THE FARMER'S WIFE stoically carries out her daily tasks in preparation for what will be her final day on her farm, the only land she has known. Unable to accept this forced future, subconscious memories return that ultimately lead her to connect more to the countryside of her youth than ever before.
During the last two years of her life, Princess Diana campaigns against the use of land mines and has a secret love affair with a Pakistani heart surgeon.
Michael is a broken man with a gun. He is surrounded by armed police. A robot with medical training is dispatched to negotiate – but can it save him?
Slice-of-life look at class divisions among employees of a brokerage house. Alan, with his portrait of the Queen and love of the peerage; his wife April, who raises cats; youthful and pretentious friends Nigel, Giles, and Anthony, who gather for a wine-soaked dinner party with the chatty and risque Samantha and the mousy Caroline; the plummy Lord and Lady Crouchurst, in a spot of bother needing the help of Francis, a senior partner, to assist with the family's cash flow. Alan comes home from work to find Mr. Shakespeare doing a photo shoot of one of April's cats and a wealthy stranger, Miss Hunt, waiting to purchase one. His instincts for sycophantic palaver kick in.
Earth has been conquered by robots from another galaxy and the human survivors must stay in their homes, or risk incineration.
A woman who has shut herself off from the world is slowly brought back to life through her friendship with a damaged young man. Feature adaptation of the 2019 short film of the same name.
A KGB plot to attack the UK has plunged Britain into a state of emergency. Charles, a young MI6 spy, is asked to revive an old friendship with Russian diplomat Viktor. But Viktor has his own agenda.
Documentary drama based on a true story, highlighting the difficulties faced by a young deaf woman, Sandra, whose attempts to use sign language are prevented in a time when deaf people were encouraged to lip read and speak. Unable to communicate adequately, Sandra becomes a target for abusive men.
An adaptation of Zadie Smith's bestseller concerning the lives of two families from as far back as the 1800s and India to late 1990s Willesden.
A family is forced off their farm due to drought, and move to Sydney.
Bawdy adaption of Tom Sharpe's comic tale. A landowning MP attempts to have a motorway built through the grounds of his wife's ancestral home.
1919: the World War is over. Kay Conway celebrates her 21st birthday and all the family look forward with hope and confidence. Then Time begins to conjure with them and offers a dark glimpse of what the future could really bring.
Madrid, 1962. More than twenty years after the civil war has finished, a communist comes back to Spain to kill a traitor.
The daughter of a thief, young Moll is placed in the care of a nunnery after the execution of her mother. However, the actions of an abusive priest lead Moll to rebel as a teenager, escaping to the dangerous streets of London. Further misfortunes drive her to accept a job as a prostitute from the conniving Mrs. Allworthy. It is there that Moll first meets Hibble, who is working as Allworthy's servant but takes a special interest in the young woman's well-being. With his help, she retains hope for the future, ultimately falling in love with an unconventional artist who promises the possibility of romantic happiness.
William is a dashing and eccentric Scotsman whose charms rapidly overwhelm the sweet and naïve Ann, but she nearly as quickly begins to comprehend that her new beau is anything but a one-woman man. In addition to his two ex-wives, with whom he remains remarkably close, William exhibits a disturbing attraction for nearly any female who crosses his path -- Ann's friends among them.
One of Ibsen's best known plays, A Dolls House caused a sensation when first published, as it provided a critique on the conventions of Victorian marriage. Nora Helmer feels suffocated and belittled in her marriage to banker Torvald. When faced with blackmail as a result of an attempt to save her husband's life, Nora decides that the only way to discover the real world is to step outside the illusions within her doll's house.
There is just one week until Kate Mercer's 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.
Michael Corben, along with the rest of his high-school French class, sets out for a trip to France when he is mistaken for an agent of the same name. He is beseiged by both the good guys and the bad guys. British Intelligence outfits him with a series of James-Bond-like gizmos, and Steranko sends more would-be assassins after him. Can Michael stop the evil Steranko's plans for European domination?
Tells the story of a woman who gets involved in politics with no previous contact with world events.
A woman on her way home notices a car following her.
A woman who has been institutionalized for 60 years for the "crime" of not conforming to the 1920s image of what a proper young woman should be (in other words, she did what she wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought about it) is finally released to the custody of her family, consisting of her grand-nephew and his family. At first she keeps a self-imposed distance from the relatives, but she soon finds herself coming around to her nephew's wife, a free spirit who is under the thumb of her cold and controlling husband.
The life story of the film director, movie star and industry figure who furthered the cause of cinema: Lord Richard Attenborough.
When Isobel Hetherington and her three young daughters take up their seaside residence in the hot summer of 1887, life seems idyllic. But the arrival of Phillip Wilson Steer for his annual painting visit launches a chain of events that will change their lives forever.
Drama looking at artist William Hogarth and his relationship with the prostitute that inspired his most famous piece.
When Tom accidentally travels back in time through a fireplace in a ruined farmhouse he meets May, an orphan who needs help. Now that he knows his friends' fate and his own, he will try to reorder the events and change their history.
A U.S. soldier sees the Berlin Wall go up in 1961 and helps a group of East Germans escape to the West.
The past catches up with an ageing American jazz pianist when he returns to the clubs of Lancashire and Yorkshire that he last visited 10 years previously.
Alice, now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny.
Over 80 years after her death, Marie Curie remains by far the best-known female scientist. In her lifetime, she became that rare thing - a celebrity scientist, attracting the attention of the news cameras and tabloid gossip. This multi-layered film reveals the real Marie Curie, an extraordinary woman who fell in love three times, had to survive the pain of loss, and the public humiliation of a doomed love affair. It is a riveting portrait of a tenacious mother and scientist, who opened the door on a whole new realm of physics, which she discovered and named - radioactivity.
Two boys pull a Saturday night prank on the police in a seaside British town.
A look at how the royal family celebrate Christmas Day at the Queen's country estate in Norfolk, combining archive footage with interviews from royal insiders and former staff. They discuss the garish gifts, classy celebrations and historical traditions, as well as why Monopoly has been banned from royal Christmases for more than a decade.
The true story of Marine Corporal Megan Leavey, who forms a powerful bond with an aggressive combat dog, Rex. While deployed in Iraq, the two complete more than 100 missions and save countless lives, until an IED explosion puts their faithfulness to the test.
Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.
A rogue band of resistance fighters unite for a mission to steal the Death Star plans and bring a new hope to the galaxy.
An old-fashioned love story set in the South Wales valleys during the 1930s. Well-to-do doctor Andrew joins his father's infirmary, and in miner's daughter Bethan finds a spirit lacking in his previous girlfriends. The two fall in love, but their differing backgrounds prove a major sticking point.
Alberto, a Colombian migrant, has the gift of healing but can't heal his own dark past. Working in London to send money home, he is tortured by dark visions, that will determine his own destiny - Your future is in his hands.
Daphne is a young woman negotiating the tricky business of modern life. Caught in the daily rush of her restaurant job and a nightlife kaleidoscope of new faces, she is witty, funny, the life of the party. Too busy to realise that deep down she is not happy. When she saves the life of a shopkeeper stabbed in a failed robbery, the impenetrable armour she wears to protect herself begins to crack, and Daphne is forced to confront the inevitability of a much-needed change in her life.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called in to unravel a mysterious curse that has plagued the Baskerville family for generations. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead, his heir, Sir Henry, begs Holmes to save him from the terrifying supernatural hound that has brought fear and death to his household.
In 1303, a ragtag bunch of crooks and ne'er-do-wells plot to take revenge on Edward I, the King of England.
A troubled woman living in an isolated community finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a secretive outsider suspected of a series of brutal murders.
A 35 year old woman, Kate, awakes from an eighteen year coma following a tragic accident to an unfamiliar world. As she tries to make sense of what has happened her family and old school friends are reluctant to dig up the past.
Vice Adm. Horatio Nelson's remarkable naval career and troubled personal affairs are brought to life in this miniseries, which tells his famous story through the narratives of those who knew him best.
The beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance.
In 1928 Dublin, during séances concerning Jonathan Swift, the spirits of his former lovers, Stella and Vanessa, emerge to resume their ancient quarrel.
Poet Siegfried Sassoon survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery, but became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of the war when he returned from service. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London's literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality.
Christopher Metcalfe returns to his childhood home following the death of his father. Here, he confronts memories of his time at public school and relives the intense, passionate affair he shared with fellow student Stephen Walker. This forces him to come to terms with himself at last.
The making of the film Gandhi (1982).
Cousin, W. Clifford Mill, ran a dirty postcard business; which brings Paul to the country in search of a profitable afternoon. Hesther knows the value of most things and, when evening falls, she turns his visit to her own advantage.
Eddie's 40th birthday party reunites friends not seen since the old days of ton-up bikes and early rock and roll. It could be a chance to relive those 'good times', if the others can only match Eddie's enthusiasm.
In 1889, Gustave Eiffel decides to attempt the impossible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris: to build the tallest tower in the world. Before this project, this pioneer and visionary had created more than 300 metal structures around the world.
Gemma collects money out of parking meters. But really she's obsessed with Elvis.
Nobody enjoys being in debt, financial or otherwise, but August Strindberg’s 1888 play – which the author ranked as his finest achievement – plays with masterly skill on the themes of emotional debit and credit to create a situation as painfully enjoyable for the audience as it is nightmarish for the protagonists.