BBC, a list by Ryan Keast

79

/5871/

78

/1146/

3.9

/30895/

93

/86/

89

81

/40/

age 15+

Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To infiltrate the inner circle of lethal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, Pine must himself become a criminal.

?

IMDb 22

5.2

/608/

62

/23/

48

/8/

Two pampered teenage daughters. Two very different mothers. The rich life is easy – until a shocking scandal reveals toxic secrets and the ugly side of glamour.

86

IMDb 54

8.7

/749290/

85

/22015/

85

/10720/

93

/113/

94

77

/16/

age 18+

A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world.

85

9.0

/1075460/

88

/51812/

85

/6122/

78

/168/

83

88

/67/

age 14+

A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.

72

7.8

/32136/

77

/1225/

75

/302/

60

/6/

A brilliant but idiosyncratic British detective and his resourceful local team solve baffling murder mysteries on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie.

76

8.3

/30974/

78

/932/

75

/192/

70

/12/

Created from the novels by award winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, Shetland follows DI Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crime within the close knit island community. In this isolated and sometimes inhospitable environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing.

79

8.5

/261417/

86

/19604/

76

/3256/

90

/424/

64

77

/54/

age 11+

The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.

83

8.2

/20971/

79

/833/

74

/105/

94

/39/

91

82

/18/

Follows rookie police officers working in Belfast, a city in which being a frontline response cop comes with unique pressures and dangers.

NEW

67

65

6.2

/5255/

63

/325/

69

/81/

3.1

/1878/

86

/14/

58

When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.

80

8.6

/34831/

80

/1243/

75

/245/

81

/18/

age 14+

Drama following the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950s, based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth.

88

8.7

/79363/

84

/2828/

82

/452/

96

/87/

94

86

/14/

A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit.

78

8.1

/151260/

80

/7773/

79

/1421/

80

/258/

73

75

/74/

age 14+

A security consultant hunts for a ruthless assassin. Equally obsessed with each other, they go head to head in an epic game of cat-and-mouse.

85

8.4

/112173/

81

/3622/

81

/1269/

4.4

/542247/

91

/91/

92

82

/25/

age 16+

Marianne and Connell weave in and out of each other's lives in this exploration of sex, power and the desire to love and be loved.

90

8.7

/239794/

86

/11131/

82

/1720/

100

/140/

93

92

/40/

age 17+

A portrait into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, porn-watching, grief-riddled woman, trying to make sense of the world. As she hurls herself headlong at modern living, Fleabag is thrown roughly up against the walls of contemporary London, with all its frenetic energy, late nights, and bright lights.

80

8.3

/39941/

80

/1325/

77

/308/

89

/77/

79

72

/20/

age 14+

Britain is in the grip of a chilling recession... falling wages, rising prices, civil unrest - only the bankers are smiling. It's 1783 and Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to his beloved Cornwall to find his world in ruins: his father dead, the family mine long since closed, his house wrecked and his sweetheart pledged to marry his cousin. But Ross finds that hope and love can be found when you are least expecting it in the wild but beautiful Cornish landscape.

78

7.7

/93186/

76

/6064/

78

/1823/

84

/153/

82

71

/38/

age 14+

Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. She is later joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As she learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds.

NEW

83

8.1

/20504/

78

/855/

76

/89/

97

/33/

87

78

/20/

age 13+

John Taylor lives in quiet solitude, designing puzzles for a living, under the nom-de-plume of 'Ludwig'. When his identical twin, James, disappears off the face of the earth, John takes over his brother's identity in a quest to discover his whereabouts.

79

8.3

/161000/

80

/6242/

78

/1403/

76

/68/

91

67

/32/

age 16+

Adventurer James Keziah Delaney returns to London from Africa in 1814 along with fourteen stolen diamonds to seek vengeance after the death of his father.

93

9.4

/172924/

90

/3223/

86

/883/

4.7

/45211/

100

/28/

94

96

/10/

age 6+

David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.

84

8.2

/35811/

80

/1544/

77

/170/

100

/25/

86

79

/13/

age 16+

The dramatised account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

82

8.4

/162337/

82

/8527/

78

/1148/

88

/117/

89

75

/61/

age 14+

A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.

76

75

8.0

/14649/

77

/400/

74

/103/

A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.

87

8.8

/101824/

84

/1618/

82

/531/

4.3

/77378/

88

/17/

97

age 14+

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

67

64

7.4

/7337/

70

/314/

66

/45/

60

/9/

After leaving paradise and seeking a quieter life, Humphrey has taken a job as Detective Inspector in his fiancée Martha's hometown. But with the high crime rate, maybe things will be louder than expected.

76

7.8

/17185/

76

/429/

76

/127/

Father Brown is based on G. K. Chesterton's detective stories about a Catholic priest who doubles as an amateur detective in order to try and solve mysteries.

73

62

7.6

/7384/

71

/210/

72

/41/

Frank Hathaway, a hardboiled private investigator, and his rookie sidekick Lu Shakespeare form the unlikeliest of partnerships as they investigate the secrets of rural Warwickshire's residents.

76

7.9

/31634/

76

/1097/

72

/231/

83

/42/

88

59

/9/

age 15+

A war veteran turned private detective operates out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street. Although wounded both physically and psychologically, his unique insight and background as a military police investigator prove crucial in solving complex crimes that have baffled the police. Based on the bestselling novels written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

77

7.4

/17007/

72

/826/

70

/203/

3.9

/12765/

95

/68/

79

75

/18/

age 14+

Brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic.

86

9.0

/65381/

88

/976/

80

/290/

Only Fools and Horses.... Is a British sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally transmitted on BBC One from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until 2003. In working-class Peckham in south-east London, ambitious market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter and his younger half-brother Rodney, explore their highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. Initially not an immediate hit and receiving little promotion early on, it later achieved consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time on Our Hands" (originally billed as the series finale) holds the record for the biggest UK audience for a sitcom episode, attracting 24.3 million viewers. The series bears a significant influence on British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the English language.

77

7.9

/92507/

79

/6881/

78

/1080/

85

/44/

87

57

/17/

age 10+

The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.

79

8.0

/28893/

79

/1399/

77

/268/

3.9

/2492/

96

/54/

72

72

/24/

age 17+

When soldier Shaun Emery's conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to flawed video evidence, he returns to life as a free man with his young daughter. But when damning CCTV footage from a night out in London comes to light, Shaun's life takes a shocking turn and he must soon fight for his freedom once again.

85

8.4

/32259/

80

/1591/

79

/232/

96

/35/

92

81

/10/

age 14+

A cash-strapped young couple inherits a grand country house, only to find it is both falling apart and teeming with the ghosts of former inhabitants.

87

8.5

/72086/

82

/2454/

79

/363/

98

/91/

94

87

/30/

Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.

65

6.1

/25684/

69

/1383/

64

/267/

92

/174/

39

70

/33/

age 10+

The Doctor and his companion travel across time and space encountering incredible friends and foes.

81

8.0

/167505/

77

/7746/

77

/1041/

3.9

/27419/

93

/71/

84

79

/12/

age 16+

A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.

74

54

6.6

/2892/

67

/104/

73

/15/

100

/5/

68

/6/

When a cleaner is hired by a wealthy businesswoman, her life changes forever as their initial friendship threatens to become a manipulative, psychological game of cat and mouse.

58

56

6.6

/6288/

66

/330/

67

/67/

3.3

/886/

53

/17/

44

54

/6/

Set on a sleeper train traveling from Glasgow to London, a government agency desperately tries to intervene in the rapidly-escalating events onboard. Can two people who've never met, one on the train and one not, work together to save the lives of its disparate group of passengers as the Heart of Britain service hurtles towards what might quite literally be its final destination?

79

8.1

/61796/

80

/4606/

76

/866/

85

/41/

94

62

/16/

age 14+

A comedic thriller that follows the bizarre adventures of eccentric “holistic” detective Dirk Gently and his reluctant assistant Todd. An adaptation of Douglas Adams’ wildly successful comic novels.

84

8.2

/27783/

78

/817/

75

/121/

98

/27/

90

age 16+

Essex and Wales collide when Gavin and Stacey fall in love - bringing their friends, family and baggage with them.

74

50

6.8

/1927/

63

/117/

67

/22/

100

/11/

After discovering she’s pregnant, hedonistic Gemma flatshares with her hapless father. Together, they have to navigate new friendships, new relationships and face up to parenthood.

82

79

7.8

/9483/

75

/352/

72

/36/

91

/11/

94

Michael has been involved in organized crime all of his adult life, working for his friend and the gang leader Ronnie. When Ronnie begins to hint at retirement, Michael too begins to imagine another life. Because, for the first time in his life, Michael is in love. For the first time in his life, he sees beyond the day-to-day, he sees a future: something to win and something to lose - Diana.

92

9.4

/233420/

91

/5154/

86

/1187/

4.6

/62739/

100

/21/

92

age 6+

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

82

8.1

/32209/

78

/1226/

71

/286/

93

/58/

90

81

/35/

age 15+

A gripping anthological relationship thriller series exploring the emotional fallout of a child's abduction not only on the family but on the wider community, told over two time frames.

74

40

7.2

/1580/

71

/58/

64

/13/

3.9

/2151/

89

/9/

Friday night. 7pm. Film Club Week 198. Evie hasn't left the house in six months after a 'wobble', and Film Club is her escape. A weekly chance to create a world of wonder, deck the garage out in whatever the movie calls for and spend a few uninterrupted hours with Noa - her best friend and one of the few mates who still shows up. But tonight, things are different. Noa's got big news. A dream job is taking him across the other side of the country, which means that all of this is ending.

82

8.5

/131181/

79

/4645/

78

/917/

97

/49/

88

66

/51/

age 14+

Nightmare boss. Tedious colleagues. Pointless tasks. Welcome to Wernham Hogg. Fancy a tea break with David Brent? Classic comedy from the archive.

83

8.2

/18066/

76

/606/

74

/139/

4.1

/4620/

99

/81/

82

87

/38/

age 14+

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

78

77

8.0

/10839/

75

/346/

71

/56/

91

/51/

85

70

/12/

Sitcom about navigating the trials and traumas of middle-class motherhood, looking at the competitive and unromantic side of parenting.

82

57

8.5

/2835/

77

/57/

84

/6/

85

/13/

88