Duncan Preston

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.

The lives of several families in the Yorkshire Dales revolve around a farm and the nearby village. With murders, affairs, lies, deceit, laughter and tears, it's all there in the village.

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

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.

Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Matlock, Belper and Ashover.

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.

The lives of several families in the Yorkshire Dales revolve around a farm and the nearby village. With murders, affairs, lies, deceit, laughter and tears, it's all there in the village.

The lives of several families in the Yorkshire Dales revolve around a farm and the nearby village. With murders, affairs, lies, deceit, laughter and tears, it's all there in the village.

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

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.

Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Matlock, Belper and Ashover.

Jim Bergerac is a detective sergeant in The Foreigners Office who likes to do things his own way. While dealing with his own personal demons Bergerac has a knack of finding trouble, and sometimes causing it.

The lives of Bodie and Doyle, top agents for Britain's CI5 (Criminal Intelligence 5), and their controller, George Cowley. The mandate of CI5 was to fight terrorism and similar high-profile crimes. Cowley, a hard ex-MI5 operative, hand-picked each of his men. Bodie is a cynical ex-SAS paratrooper and mercenary whose nature ran to controlled violence, while his partner, Doyle, comes to CI5 from the regular police force, and is more of an open minded liberal. Their relationship is often contentious, but they are the top men in their field, and the ones to whom Cowley always assigned to the toughest cases.

Antiques experts accompany celebrities on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction

The trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire town to begin his first job.

World War II drama about covert organisation Lifeline helping allied airmen escape after being shot down in occupied Europe, working with the Resistance and hiding from the Gestapo.

World War II drama about covert organisation Lifeline helping allied airmen escape after being shot down in occupied Europe, working with the Resistance and hiding from the Gestapo.

What are the secrets of our favourite TV shows? Famous names from both sides of the camera reflect on making some of the most popular and influential programs of all time.

Moving On is a British television series set in contemporary Britain consisting of standalone dramas all sharing the theme of someone going through some kind of change in their life and moving on.

Comedy Blaps is Channel 4's vehicle for piloting comedy online. Some pilots consist of a single short, whereas others consist of a few shorts.

Herne the Hunter picks Robin of Loxley as his successor in his mission to support the oppressed. Robin builds his army and leads a guerrilla attack to suppress the exploited's Norman tormentors.

Ben Shephard hosts the quiz show in which three celebrities take on an extraordinary machine in the hope of winning 20,000 pounds for charity.

The activities of the staff at The Junior Gazette, a children's weekly newspaper produced by a group of school pupils.

Former police detective Jack Grayling, pursuing his dream of becoming a cabaret singer on a luxury Mediterranean cruise ship, investigates a series of murders on board with the help of the ship's first officer, Kate Woods.

Shine on Harvey Moon! is a British comedy-drama series made by Central Television for ITV from 8 January 1982 to 23 August 1985 and briefly revived in 1995 by Meridian. This generally light-hearted series was created by comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. The series is set in the East End of London shortly after the Second World War. Upon being demobbed RAF serviceman Harvey Moon, played by Kenneth Cranham, returns home and finds his family involved in various troubles. His wife Rita, played by Maggie Steed, is not interested in resuming their relationship, and works in a seedy nightclub frequented by American servicemen. He becomes involved with the Labour Party and the union movement. The name of the series is a wordplay on the title of the popular 1908 song 'Shine On, Harvest Moon'. The first series was commissioned and recorded by ATV at their Elstree studios with the remaining series filmed at newly constructed facilities in Nottingham.

The New Statesman is a British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time.

In the 1950s at the fictional Lancashire village of Ormston, a father and son, both doctors, navigate the challenges of running a cottage hospital under the newly established National Health Service.

Surgical spirit is a British situation-comedy television series starring Nichola McAuliffe and Duncan Preston that was broadcast from 14 April 1989 through to 7 July 1995. It was written by Annie Bruce, Raymond Dixon, Graeme Garden, Peter Learmouth, Paul McKenzie and Annie Wood. It was made for the ITV network by Humphrey Barclay Productions for Granada Television.

Hunters Walk – devised by Dixon of Dock Green creator Ted Willis – was about crime on a smaller – but no less dramatic – scale, and featured a police force in the fictional Midlands town of Broadstone (the series was actually filmed in Rushden, Northants). Sharing several similarities with the classic 1950s police drama, in particular a small-town settingband storylines encompassing the more human aspects of police work, Hunters Walk offered a contrasting alternative to the 1970s more hard-hitting, action-led urban crime dramas. The small, idiosyncratic team of officers faced a typically broad spectrum of cases, from neighbours’ disputes and hooliganism to suspected murder.

Harry Enfield, Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse and others take on an array of oddball characters and old-time favorites in this sketch comedy show.

Dinnerladies is a BBC sitcom written by and starring Victoria Wood that chronicles the antics of a group of workers in a canteen in the north of England. Bren tries to maintain a semblance of order in amongst the chaos, while dealing with the canteen supervisor, slightly sex-obsessed cancer sufferer Tony. Dolly and Jean are the bickering menopausal older women, always at odds but best friends beneath it all. Then there's thick-as-two-short-planks Anita, and the terminally uninterested Twinkle, more concerned with having a good time than anything else. Making up the motley crew are military man handyman Stan, all rules and regulations, and ditzy Philippa, who never seems to get anything right.

Murder in Suburbia was a British detective drama that ran for two series in 2004 and 2005. Detective Inspector Kate Ashurst, a graduate of a posh girls' academy, has a sharp, analytical mind; her working-class partner, Detective Sergeant Emma Scribbins, relies on her instincts. Together this sassy, sexy investigative team uncovers the dark urges behind suburban Middleford's placid façade.

A British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series written by Steven Moffat were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997. Like his earlier sitcom Joking Apart, it was produced by Andre Ptaszynski. The series focuses upon deputy headteacher Eric Slatt, permanently stressed over the chaos he creates both by himself and some of his eccentric staff. His wife Janet and new English teacher Suzy Travis attempt to help him solve the problems.

Victoria Wood was a series of six one-off situation comedies written by and starring Victoria Wood in 1989, who took a break from sketches, two years after her very successful and award winning series Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. Wood appeared as "Victoria", a fictionalised version of herself, in all six episodes - in The Library it was said that she "worked in TV" and in Over To Pam characters appeared to recognise her celebrity and in the final episode, Staying In, she was taken to a party to perform as a comedienne and was expected to go through her stand-up 'routine'. Her character often broke the 'fourth wall' of TV and spoke directly to the camera, but not in every episode. Bored with the sketch format and with a yearning to recapture previous success as a playwright, Wood came up with six individual sitcoms as a compromise. She admitted to finding the writing difficult. Though Wood was written as the central character, other lead parts were written with specific actresses in mind, like Julie Walters and Una Stubbs. "I want people to like me and the people who play my friends, and not everybody else" she said. Screenonline says of the shows "Modest in ambition and scale but rich in wit and acuity, the six playlets showcase Wood's eye for human foibles and her distinctively eccentric characters.".

That's My Boy is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1981 to 1986. It stars Mollie Sugden as Ida Willis, who takes a job as a housekeeper for her son, whom she gave up for adoption years earlier.

Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV is a British sketch comedy series created by and starring comedian Victoria Wood with Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge. The show broadcast on BBC Two between 1985 and 1987, and included sketches that became famous in the United Kingdom; these included one-offs like Two Soups and regular features such as Acorn Antiques, as well as musical performances by Wood including her most well-known number, The Ballad of Barry and Freda.

Despite its impressive history and reputation, the international trading company Struan's is in trouble. Overextended by the previous management, new tai-pan Ian Dunross has had to issue public stock to improve the company's financial standing. Even this, however, has not given him the capital he needs. As a result, he is courting a private investor, American billionaire Linc Bartlett. Bartlett decides secretly to back Dunross' arch enemy, Quillian Gornt, who will stop at nothing to destroy Struan's. When Dunross realises that Gornt is suddenly strong enough to ruin the Noble House, he must urgently forge new alliances or reshape ancient ones.

Hardwicke House is a 1987 British sitcom produced by Central Independent Television for ITV. Seven spisodes were made, but the series was so poorly received that only the first two were transmitted. In the large comprehensive school Hardwicke House, the staff of which are as dysfunctional as the pupils. One teacher is a multiple murderer while the deputy headmaster lusts after male pupils. One teacher, Moose Magnusson, is on an extended exchange placement because his own school in Iceland refuses to have him back.

This was a series of summer plays, one of which ("Waxwork") led to the popular series Cribb (1980).

Best friends Debbie and Veronica quit their jobs and decide to search for glamour, excitement and adventure as promotional girls at Glamgirls Ltd.

In 1998 Victoria Wood put pen to paper and wrote her multi-award-winning comedy, dinnerladies. Twenty years on this documentary takes a look back at what it was like working on this well-loved sitcom.

Wood and Walters is a British BAFTA nominated comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with just one pilot in 1981 and seven episodes broadcast in 1982.