Nigel Hawthorne

Acting

Nigel Hawthorne

Born — Died

1929-04-05 — 2001-12-26

Place of birth

Hertfordshire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

100 titles

Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne (April 5, 1929 – December 26, 2001) was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he would win four Bafta Awards during the 1980s in the 'Best Light Entertainment Performance' Category. In the 1990s He would win two more Bafta Awards, one as Best TV Actor for 'The Fragile Heart' and one as Best Film Actor for 'The Madness of King George'. His role in the latter also garnered him his sole Oscar Nomination.

Known for

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

Tales of the Unexpected poster
6.8

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

Natural World poster
7.4

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

Natural World

1983

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

Film credits

2000s · 6 titles

Call Me Claus poster
5.7

When Lucy Cullins, a successful but cranky producer at a home shopping network hires an actor named Nick to play Santa Claus on the network, she gets more than she bargained for.

Call Me Claus

2001

Once Upon a Halloween poster
6.0

On the night before Halloween, the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs plans to conquer Halloween, and asks her cauldron to show you several villains, to which one of them helps her in her plan, such as Peg Leg Pete from Mickey & Co., Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Captain Hook from Peter Pan, Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove, Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective, Alameda Slim from Home on the Range, and Judge Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame The cauldron also explains its origins and The Horned King, both from The Black Cauldron.

Once Upon a Halloween

2005

Victoria & Albert poster
7.6

The passionate love story that was Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's lengthy marriage. Beginning in 1837, the year of King William IV's death and 18-year-old Victoria's ascension to the throne, the series charts the tumultuous period in 19th Century England where Victoria comes to terms with the enormous duties that lay ahead of her, while also falling deeply in love with her beloved Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The marriage and birth of their nine children are featured, as is Albert's frustration by the inactivity he experienced in the early years of his role as Prince Consort.

Victoria & Albert

2001

No artwork available
6.5

Movie with some of the greatest brittish comedians such as Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese.

The Funny Blokes of British Comedy

2005

No artwork available
10.0

A classic series of 52 x 5-minute poems, affectionately narrated by the late Sir Nigel Hawthorne in the UK and re-voiced for Disney in the USA by Alan Marriott. The ANIMAL STORIES run like modern-day Aesop Fables and tell us all about a Penguin who can't fly, a Leopard who wants to change his spots, a Fly who learns how to read and many more. These stories are conveyed as humorous rhyming couplets. Simple, fresh and lots of fun, Animal Stories takes a humorous look at the lives, loves and concerns of the animal kingdom, viewed from a child's perspective. Each episode of this colorful series, centers on a different animal and asks a question about an aspect of life that all children can relate to... What is life like for a Penguin who can't fly, a Pig who thinks he's too fat or a Frog who discovers his wife is expecting thousands of children!? What do you do if you're a Dog that's got bad breath? Produced by Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment Ltd.

Animal Stories

2005

Higher Love poster
6.4

Ross, who lives with his eccentric Uncle Cullen, is desperately trying to become a successful businessman. When he attempts to sell the family wine collection to finance a new venture, his uncle hatches a plan to remind Ross of the talent he left behind.

Higher Love

2001

1990s · 16 titles

Tarzan poster
7.4

Tarzan was a small orphan who was raised by an ape named Kala since he was a child. He believed that this was his family, but on an expedition Jane Porter is rescued by Tarzan. He then finds out that he's human. Now Tarzan must make the decision as to which family he should belong to...

Tarzan

1999

Demolition Man poster
6.8

In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future, Spartan is awakened to capture his nemesis the old-fashioned way.

Demolition Man

1993

The Object of My Affection poster
5.8

A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.

The Object of My Affection

1998

Richard III poster
6.8

Having helped his brother King Edward IV take the throne of England, the jealous hunchback Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots to seize power for himself. Masterfully deceiving and plotting against nearly everyone in the royal court, including his eventual wife, Lady Anne, and his brother George, Duke of Clarence, Richard orchestrates a bloody rise to power before finding all his gains jeopardized by those he betrayed.

Richard III

1995

Freddie As F.R.O.7. poster
5.2

Frederick is a young medieval French prince with magical powers, turned into a frog by his evil sorceress aunt, who kills his father in a bid to seize the throne. After being pursued by his aunt, the prince is saved by the Loch Ness Monster, who indebts herself to him, and hides out with a colony of anthropomorphic frogs for a time. After ultimately deciding to accept his fate and fight evil using his powers, Freddie grows to the size of an adult human, travels to the future, and becomes a French secret agent with a sentient car.

Freddie As F.R.O.7.

1992

Twelfth Night poster
7.0

Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.

Twelfth Night

1996

The Madness of King George poster
6.8

Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.

The Madness of King George

1994

Madeline poster
6.2

Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl named Madeline uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.

Madeline

1998

Murder in Mind poster
5.5

The L.A. police find two bodies in a fancy house and suspect the wife of one victim. Dr. Ellis, a hypnotherapist, takes her back in time; with the police listening, a pattern of spousal abuse emerges. When each trance ends, however, the woman, Carolyn Walker, wonders if those repressed memories are true. Dr. Ellis guides her through her trial, testifies himself, and continues treatment after the verdict is in. Carolyn's memory and well-being get worse after the trial, not better. She misses some therapy sessions, and Dr. Ellis comes to see her at home. Snatches of memory come and go. Can he help her remember what really happened? Are the cops satisfied justice has been done?

Murder in Mind

1997

The Trials of Oz poster
6.3

Dramatization of the famous 1971 trial in which the editors of the British underground magazine "Oz" were charged with obscenity.

The Trials of Oz

1991

Amistad poster
7.0

In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.

Amistad

1997

The Winslow Boy poster
6.8

In pre-WWI England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.

The Winslow Boy

1999

The Big Brass Ring poster
4.6

Blake Pellarin is on the campaign trail to become president of the United States. While making a stop in St. Louis, a chance encounter brings his past back to haunt him.

The Big Brass Ring

1999

The Clandestine Marriage poster
7.0

A period film, set around an English country house whose owners want to arrange a marriage of convenience between their elder daughter and an aristocratic heir of a hard-up noble family.

The Clandestine Marriage

1999

King of the Wind poster
7.0

In 1727, an Arab colt is born with the signs of the wheat ear and the white spot on his heel: evil and good. And thus begins the life of Sham. He is a gift to the King of France, through a series of adventures with his faithful stable boy, Agba, he becomes the Godolphin Arabian, the founder of one of the greatest thoroughbred racing lines of all time.

King of the Wind

1990

Atatürk: Founder of Modern Turkey poster
3.0

The rise of modern Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk. He established peace on the borders of Turkey for the first time in centuries, secularized the country, emancipated women, guaranteed certain minorities equal rights, and replaced Arabic script with the Latin alphabet. Along with rare archival footage is commentary from academic experts and interviews with his adopted daughter Ulku; Suleyman Demirel, President of the Turkish Republic; and the Patriarch of the Orthodox church.

Atatürk: Founder of Modern Turkey

1999

1980s · 22 titles

The Black Cauldron poster
6.4

Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.

The Black Cauldron

1985

Gandhi poster
7.6

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.

Gandhi

1982

Firefox poster
6.1

The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are rumours that it is undetectable by radar—the British send ex-Vietnam War pilot, Mitchell Gant on a covert mission into the Soviet Union to steal the Firefox.

Firefox

1982

History of the World: Part I poster
6.7

An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.

History of the World: Part I

1981

The Plague Dogs poster
7.8

Two dogs, Rowf and Snitter, struggle to survive in the countryside after escaping from an animal research laboratory. They're pursued by search parties and then the military after rumours spread that they could be carrying the bubonic plague.

The Plague Dogs

1982

The Hunchback of Notre Dame poster
5.7

Quasimodo, the hunchback bellringer of Notre Dame's cathedral, meets a beautiful gypsy dancer, Esmeralda, and falls in love with her. So does Quasimodo's guardian, the archdeacon of the cathedral, and a poor street poet. But Esmeralda's in love with a handsome soldier. When a mob mistakes her for a witch, it's up to Quasimodo to rescue her and claim sanctuary for her in the cathedral.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1982

Turtle Diary poster
6.3

Two separate people, a man and a woman, find something very stirring about the sea turtles in their tank at the London Zoo. They meet and form an odd, but sympathetic camaraderie as they plan to steal two of the turtles and free them into the ocean.

Turtle Diary

1985

Pope John Paul II poster
7.5

Bio-drama tracing the life and career of Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla from his days as a young activist in Poland to his rise and installation in 1978 as Pope of the Catholic world.

Pope John Paul II

1984

A Woman Called Golda poster
7.7

The story of the Russian-born, Wisconsin-raised woman who rose to become Israel's prime minister in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

A Woman Called Golda

1982

Memoirs of a Survivor poster
4.2

Based on the acclaimed novel by Doris Lessing, this dystopian science fiction tale concerns a woman struggling to make her way in a post-apocalyptic society. D (Julie Christie) is living in a city that's at the point of collapse following a catastrophic nuclear war; lawlessness and violence rule the day, and gangs of brutal youth roam the streets. With the help of her teenage companion Emily (Leonie Mellinger), D tries to make her way, and in order to cope, she often escapes into a fantasy world in which she lives in genteel Victorian surroundings in the 19th century.

Memoirs of a Survivor

1981

A Tale of Two Cities poster
6.1

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.

A Tale of Two Cities

1980

The Crimson Permanent Assurance poster
7.2

A group of down-and-out accountants mutiny against their bosses and sail their office building onto the high seas in search of a pirate's life.

The Crimson Permanent Assurance

1983

Tartuffe, or The Imposter poster
7.0

Royal Shakespeare Company's televised adaptation of Moliere's play with Antony Sher in the title role of Tartuffe.

Tartuffe, or The Imposter

1983

The Chain poster
7.0

Comedy featuring interweaving stories of seven households caught up in a property chain on moving day, each one dependent on the other.

The Chain

1984

The Funny Side of Christmas poster
NR

Skits from: "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin"; "The Les Dawson Show"; "Yes Minister"; "Only Fools and Horses"; "Three of a Kind"; "Last of the Summer Wine"; "Sorry!"; "Butterflies"; "Smith and Jones"; and "Open All Hours".

The Funny Side of Christmas

1982

A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado poster
8.0

A black comedy about excessive consumption. A young couple are determined to make a break with a predictable future as servants of a large corporation and sink their savings into a restaurant. All is disaster until the appearance of the Porters, whose enthusiastic patronage soon has trade booming.

A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado

1981

The House poster
5.7

Set in 1884, and based on the assumption that Britain is one of the Baltic states between Russia and Latvia, making it part of Europe instead of an off-shore island. It is winter 1884. To gain access to the sea, England has declared war on Latvia and believes herself to be winning. But Russia has sided with Latvia and England is doomed. The action takes place on New Year’s Eve in a country house on the Anglo-Latvian border. The guests are a cross section of the ruling classes.

The House

1984

Jenny's War poster
6.0

This fact-based story follows a woman who launches a rescue of her Royal Air Force pilot son, who was shot down over Germany in 1941. Getting no help from the underground, she sets up her own rescue mission.

Jenny's War

1985

The Enigma poster
NR

When John Fielding, MP, disappeared on the way home to his country estates he was, perhaps, cracking the first good joke of his life. Sergeant Jennings, left to pursue the investigation, finds little humour or help amongst Fielding's friends or family. Only Isobel could believe that Fielding might have wanted to disappear.

The Enigma

1980

Protest poster
NR

A dissident Czechoslovakian playwright awaits trial for his activities against the current political regime.

Protest

1981

A Handful of Time poster
5.1

Gothic thriller about Old Martin who heeds the voice of Anna, who calls him back to the mountain cabin where he left her to die while she gave birth to their surviving son.

A Handful of Time

1989

The Spirit of Man poster
10.0

In pursuit of faith, God and the Devil, spells are cast, buckets of water thrown and men with black beards dance and sing.

The Spirit of Man

1989

1970s · 14 titles

Watership Down poster
7.2

When the warren belonging to a community of rabbits is threatened, a brave group led by Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry and Hazel leave their homeland in a search of a safe new haven.

Watership Down

1978

Young Winston poster
6.2

This historical drama is an account of the early life of British politician Winston Churchill, including his childhood years, his time as a war correspondent in Africa, and culminating with his first election to Parliament.

Young Winston

1972

The Hiding Place poster
6.9

Corrie and Betsie ten Boom are middle-aged sisters working in their father's watchmaker shop in pre-World War II Holland. Their uneventful lives are disrupted with the coming of the Nazis. Suspected of hiding Jews and caught breaking rationing rules, they are sent to a concentration camp, where their Christian faith keeps them from despair and bitterness.

The Hiding Place

1975

Sweeney 2 poster
6.2

Second theatrical spin-off from the popular 1970's police series. Regan and Carter head a Flying Squad investigation into a series of bank raids by a team of well-armed villains who are flying in from the continent.

Sweeney 2

1978

Edward & Mrs. Simpson poster
10.0

While still the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII meets the married American socialite, Wallis Simpson. Their relationship causes furor in the palace and in parliament, especially when King George V dies, Mrs. Simpson gets divorced, and King Edward announces his intentions to marry her.

Edward & Mrs. Simpson

1978

Play Things poster
NR

A young man volunteers to work with a children's play group in a deprived London area. Adapted by Peter Prince from his own novel.

Play Things

1976

S*P*Y*S poster
5.2

Two CIA bunglers botch a Soviet defection, then both sides mark them for termination.

S*P*Y*S

1974

The Floater poster
10.0

A comedy about the law - seen from the inside. All formality and procedure on the surface but not quite so convincing when you see the works.

The Floater

1975

Occupations poster
NR

In an attempt to win better conditions for the workers in 1920s Turin, Gramsci leads a takeover of the factories by the workers. He is offered assistance by Kabak (who has just arrived from Moscow) but Gramsci soon realizes Kabak is not motivated by ideology, as he has other motives.

Occupations

1974

The Sailor's Return poster
6.2

Based on the 1925 novel The Sailor's Return by David Garnett. A sailor returns to his hometown to open a pub bringing with him his new black wife. Very quickly they find themselves ostracised by the community.

The Sailor's Return

1978

Spiderweb poster
NR

A rabbi is murdered. Detective Llonrot is called in on the case and looks for a 'rabbinical explanation' for the murder. Other murders are committed and deliberate clues left in chosen locations. Llonrot, convinced he is on the trail of a 'mystical intrigue' is lured to the 'crime scene' when the tables are turned by his nemesis, the master criminal Red Scharlach.

Spiderweb

1976

The Emergency Channel poster
NR

Dean has a rare talent. He can be made happy. He exudes happiness and confidence like a rare blossom. Both Sarah in the past, and Julia now, could do this for him. But where are they now that he is alone in Battersea Park with two suitcases and no memory?

The Emergency Channel

1973

The Knowledge poster
6.5

Four men attempt "The Knowledge" examination to qualify as London taxi drivers.

The Knowledge

1979

Child of Hope poster
NR

Thirty-seven men from the disputed territory of South West Africa are on trial for their lives in Pretoria, 1,000 miles from their home. They are to be tried under South Africa's Terrorism Act despite the UN ruling that South Africa must abandon its 'illegal administration' of their country.

Child of Hope

1975

Series credits

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

BBC Play of the Month poster
5.2

A BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.

BBC Play of the Month

1965

Tales of the Unexpected poster
6.8

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

Tales of the Unexpected

1979

Natural World poster
7.4

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

Natural World

1983

ITV Playhouse poster
7.0

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

ITV Playhouse

1967

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

No artwork available
5.1

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.

Film '72

1971

Playhouse poster
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974

Playhouse poster
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974

Parkinson poster
NR

Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.

Parkinson

1998

Performance poster
6.3

An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.

Performance

1991

ITV Saturday Night Theatre poster
7.0

Anthology series of dramatic works.

ITV Saturday Night Theatre

1969

Yes Minister poster
8.3

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.

Yes Minister

1980

Dad's Army poster
7.5

Introducing the Walmington-On-Sea home guard. During WW2, in a fictional British seaside town, a ragtag group of Home Guard local defense volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion.

Dad's Army

1968

The BBC Television Shakespeare poster
6.0

The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.

The BBC Television Shakespeare

1978

ScreenPlay poster
6.0

Screenplay was a drama anthology television series, broadcast on BBC between 1986 and 1993. Numerous episodes were produced including one named "Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Islands" starring Robbie Coltrane as English writer Samuel Johnson who in the autumn of 1773, visits the Hebrides off the north-west coast of Scotland. That episode was directed by John Byrne and co-starred John Sessions and Celia Imrie.

ScreenPlay

1986

The Play on One poster
6.0

A series of television plays, some original, some based on pre-existing plays or novels.

The Play on One

1988

Holocaust poster
7.3

Berlin, Germany, 1935. The day Karl Weiss, a Jewish painter, and Inga Helms, a Christian woman, marry, is the one in which both of them and the entire Weiss family are caught up in the maelstrom of the Nazi regime, the storms of World War II and the horrors of the criminal Final Solution, the Holocaust, the Shoah; while Erik Dorf, an ambitious lawyer, undertakes his fall into hell at the hands of the sinister Reinhard Heydrich.

Holocaust

1978

Yes, Prime Minister poster
8.3

James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?

Yes, Prime Minister

1986

Man of the World poster
7.2

Michael Strait is a world-renowned photographer whose assignments lead him into investigating mysterious goings-on amongst the rich and glamorous and intrigue from far-flung places as Iraq, French Indochina, and Algiers.

Man of the World

1962

Theatre Night poster
NR

A series of dramas featuring staged theatre plays.

Theatre Night

1985

Hallmark Hall of Fame poster
8.8

Long-running anthology program sponsored by Hallmark Cards. Beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2019, the series received 80 Emmy Awards, 24 Christopher Awards, 11 Peabody Awards, 9 Golden Globes, and 4 Humanitas Prizes. Early seasons were a weekly live drama, eventually transitioning to videotaped and then filmed productions broadcast as occasional specials.

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

Warrior Queen poster
6.7

Warrior Queen is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV from 20 February to 27 March 1978. Set in Britain under Roman rule, this historical drama starred Siân Phillips in the title role as Boudica, queen of the Iceni and chronicled her efforts to maintain the peace for her people and fight the Romans. Nigel Hawthorne played the Roman tax collector Catus Decianus.

Warrior Queen

1978

Bill Brand poster
7.2

Following the death of the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, Bill Brand is selected as Labour candidate for a Lancashire textile constituency.

Bill Brand

1976

Mapp & Lucia poster
6.2

Mapp & Lucia is a British television comedy, based on E. F. Benson's novels, beginning with the eponymous 1931 entry for series 1, with Lucia's Progress and Trouble for Lucia for series 2. Mrs Emmeline Lucas (nicknamed Lucia) has just moved to the small English town of Tilling where she comes into conflict with the social ambitions of Miss Elizabeth Mapp. Until now, Miss Mapp has led (and controlled) the social life of Tilling, but that was before they met Lucia.

Mapp & Lucia

1985

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Russell Harty

1980

Thomas & Sarah poster
6.0

In the aftermath of Upstairs Downstairs, chauffeur Thomas Watkins and housemaid Sarah Moffat have gone their separate ways. But when a near fatal auto accident reunites them, the duo team up to hatch get-rich-quick schemes, pose as wealthy investors, or take on various odd jobs—often at the expense of others.

Thomas & Sarah

1979

Edward and Mrs Simpson poster
6.8

While still the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII meets the married American socialite, Wallis Simpson. Their relationship causes furor in the palace and in parliament, especially when King George V dies, Mrs. Simpson gets divorced, and King Edward announces his intention to marry her.

Edward and Mrs Simpson

1978

The Barchester Chronicles poster
7.3

The Barchester Chronicles is a 1982 BBC television serial produced by Jonathan Powell and dramatised by Alan Plater, based on Anthony Trollope's first two Chronicles of Barsetshire, The Warden (1855) and Barchester Towers (1857). Against the sumptuous background of Peterborough Cathedral and its environs, one is carried into Trollope's world of the intriguing machinations of the clerical establishment of Barchester. Backed by the authenticity of the period detail, the portrayal of all the characters accurately conveys the whole range of human emotions within the stories.

The Barchester Chronicles

1982

Going Straight poster
7.7

Going Straight is a BBC sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set. It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest. Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid. Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst. Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.

Going Straight

1978

Animal Stories poster
NR

Animal Stories run like modern-day Aesop Fables and tell us all about a Penguin who can't fly, a Leopard who wants to change his spots, a Fly who learns how to read and many more.

Animal Stories

1998

Russia's War: Blood Upon the Snow poster
9.0

An account of the Eastern Front, epic in scale and savagery, as Soviets experienced it and Stalin commanded it.

Russia's War: Blood Upon the Snow

1996