
Acting
Nicholas Parsons
Born — Died
1923-10-10 — 2020-01-28
Place of birth
Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, UK
Known for
Acting
Credits
80 titles
Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show Just a Minute and hosted the game show Sale of the Century during the 1970s and early 1980s. Parsons was born and grew up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and was educated at St Paul's School, London. He became a full-time actor following the Second World War and began appearing in various theatre, film and television roles, including support to Arthur Haynes. He began presenting Just a Minute in 1967 and never missed a show until 2018. In addition to his well-known roles on this and Sale of the Century, …
Known for
7.9The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Doctor Who
1963
7.1Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.
Have I Got News for You
1990
5.6Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.
Wogan
1982
7.0World in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.
World in Action
1963
7.8The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
7.1Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996
Film credits
2010s · 7 titles
6.3In this documentary, experts dissect the Battle of Britain, which took place on Sept. 15, 1940 — a day that determined the fate of the nation.
13 Hours That Saved Britain
2011
7.0Nicholas Parsons explores his life-long enthusiasm for clocks when he goes in search of the most valuable and famous watch in the world - the so-called Marie Antoinette.
The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch with Nicholas Parsons
2016
8.5Sir David Frost traces the development of the sketch show over the last fifty years, from variety theatre to primetime television.
Frost on Sketch Shows
2013
NRA retrospective of events in director Louis van Gasteren’s life from 1964 to 1969, filmed by him in that period and reflected on from his vantage point over 40 years later at the age of 90.
There Is No Plane to Zagreb
2012
Family and friends pay tribute to the funnyman, who was one of Britain's best-loved stars of stage, TV and film for more than 50 years - and also became a cult figure in Albania, where his films were ruled to be acceptable entertainment during the country's long years of isolation during the Cold War. Including contributions by Norman's son Nick, singer Vera Lynn and actress Honor Blackman.
The Unforgettable Norman Wisdom
2011
7.0We all love a good quiz. So here's a question - when did ordinary contestants turn into the pro-quizzers of today? Giving the answers are Victoria Coren Mitchell, Judith Keppel, Chris Tarrant, Mark Labbett, Nicholas Parsons and many more. Narrated by Ben Miller.
Brains of Britain (or How Quizzing Became Cool)
2016
7.3The definitive documentary about the iconic television series developed by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and their production companies (AP Films and Century 21 Pictures). Supermarionation was a revolutionary technique used in all their programmes throughout the 1960s including Stingray, Captain Scarlet and, most famously, Thunderbirds.
Filmed in Supermarionation
2014
2000s · 6 titles
1.0Quirky young art teacher Jemima takes up a £100,00 bet to ride through the town naked on horseback like Lady Godiva to keep her beloved Art Factory open.
Lady Godiva
2008
6.3Kenneth Williams was the star of the Carry Ons and Round the Horne. Despite his fame, he led a life full of mental torture as he tried to overcome his homosexuality in 1950s Britain. This film follows his life and eventual death based on the many diaries he kept
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
2006
10.0Profile of actress Wendy Richard's remarkable television career, featuring classic clips and contributions from colleagues.
Wendy Richard: A Life on the Box
2001
7.0Once again, Ken Dodd (with over 40 years in his trade) performs his unique set in front of a host of celebrities gathered to show their appreciation of his enduring talent.
Another Audience With Ken Dodd
2002
NRA documentary looking at the life of Benny Hill and with the use of an audience reaction test finding out if he is still funny to contemporary audiences.
Is Benny Hill Still Funny?
2006
10.0The only word to describe the amazing duo of Rik Mayall and Adrian Edminson is genius. For the past 25 years they have provided us with some unforgettable programs that left us on the floor such as The Young Ones, The Dangerous Brothers and of course, Bottom. The DVD contains the very best and violent bits from the live shows and TV programmes that have starred the two slapstick legends in the past 25 years. With the help of the great comedy writers such as Ben Elton, they have produced many great moments, such as the sprouts of doom and the towering inferno impression that went horrifically wrong. Here they are, all of the great moments on 1 disc. Here is what you can expect from the greatest compilation of slapstick moments of all time!!!
Bottom Mindless Violence
2004
1980s · 2 titles
9.0Two alcoholic escorts suddenly find themselves involved with a hit gang and an ax murderer.
Mr Jolly Lives Next Door
1988
8.4The Doctor and Ace arrive at a secret military base during World War II, where an ancient evil from the Doctor's past prepares to make his final deadly move. As hideous vampires rise from the sea and Russian commandoes begin to close in, they are confronted not only with a mystery from the distant past but also a terrifying vision of mankind's future...
Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric
1989
1970s · 4 titles
6.8The Best of Benny Hill is a 1974 film version of material from the television comedy series, The Benny Hill Show. This movie features sketches from the early Thames Television years, from 1969 to 1973.
The Best of Benny Hill
1974
5.5A nuclear war specialist returns from a mission gathering data on Soviet communications and electronic warfare techniques in the Arctic Ocean to find that his flat has been broken into and mysteriously re-decorated.
Spy Story
1976
Three irresponsible teenagers borrow a yacht belonging to the local Sea Scouts and run out of fuel. They hoist the sail in an endeavour to stop the boat drifting on to the notoriously dangerous Bradda Head, but find themselves in even greater trouble in the shape of a sea-mine.
Danger Point
1971
8.0An onboard documentary following the passengers and crew of S.S. France on a trip from Southampton to New York and back. The film includes a look behind the scenes at what it takes to operate all that goes on during a voyage.
S.S. France
1973
1960s · 8 titles
7.1During an annual board of trustees meeting, one of the trustees dies. Miss Marple thinks he’s been poisoned after finding a chemical on him. She sets off to investigate at the ship where he had just come from. The fourth and final film from the Miss Marple series starring Margaret Rutherford as the quirky amateur detective.
Murder Ahoy
1964
6.2After a bunch of no-hopers approaches an employment agency, the anarchy mounts as they do a series of odd jobs, including a chimp's tea party, trying to stay sober at a wine tasting… and demolishing a house.
Carry On Regardless
1961
6.4In Victorian England, a fortune now depends on which of two brothers outlives the other—or can be made to have seemed to do so.
The Wrong Box
1966
6.6George Lester is a man who is chasing rainbows, looking for the pot of gold at the end. When his wife, Pamela grows tired of being dragged all over the world, she leaves him. While she is away, George converts her family home into a discotheque, when she returns, she threatens to send George to jail for fraud, cause she didn't give her approval. George needing some fast bucks, decides to turn to an old cohort of his, William Homer but Willy's a little short. George then decides to steal the plans to a new drill, Pamela's suitor, Dudley Heath is working on. But when George gets the mumps, he can't make it to the meeting place and refuses to give Willy the plans unless he gives him the cash first. And the buyers won't give unless they see the merchandise first.
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River
1968
7.0A group of teenagers take jobs at a holiday camp for the summer and enter a TV talent show
Every Day's a Holiday
1965
5.5Doctors Burke and Hare leave the confines of St Swithins for the world of general practice, stopping off on the way as patients at the Foulness Anti-cold Unit. Hare then takes up a position as junior in a well-healed G.P.'s surgery while Burke continues to sow his doctorial wild oats.
Doctor in Love
1960
9.0Unbeknownst to the Spencer Davis Group, their manager is upper class, grew up in a haunted manor, and is called Algernon. When they visit his home, they find out that the family is broke, they don't have the money to pay the servants, and their home is going to ruin. Spencer suggests that they advertise the home (and the ghost) and charge admission.
The Ghost Goes Gear
1966
A medical student who is thrown out of his university, ends up working in a laundry and rebuilds his confidence with a relationship with a fashion model.
Let's Get Married
1960
1950s · 10 titles
6.9Scotland Yard detectives attempt to solve a spate of safe robberies across England beginning with clues found at the latest burglary in London. The film is notable for using a police procedural style made popular by Ealing in their 1950 film The Blue Lamp. It is known in the US as The Third Key.
The Long Arm
1956
5.8On marrying the boss's daughter, Richard takes his father-in-law's advice to hire a live-in domestic. He soon finds good help is hard to come by. Run-ins follow with dipsomaniacs, bank robbers, a Welsh lass who takes one look at London and runs, and an Italian charmer who turns the place into a bawdy house. Then when Ingrid arrives from Sweden things actually start to get complicated.
Upstairs and Downstairs
1959
6.4Returning from a cricket match in Ireland, Peter Weston gains a pet alligator from another passenger who abandons it with him. He is horrified and while his first instinct is to get rid of it he develops a relationship with a young Irishwoman who appears to be entwined with the reptile. He soon discovers that Daisy is tame and seems to be the way to Moira's heart.
An Alligator Named Daisy
1955
6.1Great Britain has had an international agreement for the last 50 years with a small pacific island. It has been ignored until the death of their king brings it to the attention of the Foreign Office in Whitehall. They decide to send Cadogan de Vere Carlton-Browne to re-establish friendly relations.
Carlton-Browne of the F.O.
1959
7.4Accident-prone Fingers runs a pretty unsuccessful gang. They try and rob wealthy but tricky Billy Gordon - who distrusts banks and fears the Inland Revenue - but he sees Fingers and the boys off. So they decide to kidnap his daughter, only to end up with his wife Lucy. Gordon makes out he couldn't be more pleased, spuring Lucy to take charge of the hopeless bunch of villains.
Too Many Crooks
1959
5.9A couple of bickering, married performers agree to star in a "Mr. and Mrs." TV show.
Simon and Laura
1955
7.0Roger Thursby is an overly keen, newly-qualified barrister who rubs his fellow barristers up the wrong way. When he is thrown in at the deep-end, with a particularly hot-tempered judge and tricky case, Thursby learns how to prove himself not only to the judge and fellow barristers but also to the public gallery.
Brothers in Law
1957
5.8Under a complicated bequest from her uncle, Myrtle stands to inherit $2,000,000 if her ex-husband doesn't have any male heirs on the way, else he gets the cash. She journies from New York to England, and finally tracks him down with his heavily pregnant new wife. Should she try and woo him back or challenge the legality of the new marriage?
To Dorothy, a Son
1954
7.0In a quiet summer corner of Wiltshire that is forever England, David and Janet decide to tie the knot. Unfortunately this is the cue for everyone else to take over proceedings, to the dismay of the couple and the increasing despair of Janet's father.
Happy Is the Bride
1958
6.8Lucy Church, the sole witness to a fatal robbery, is struck by a passing bus and her life lies in the balance as the thieves wait for a chance to finish her off.
Eyewitness
1956
Series credits
7.9The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Doctor Who
1963
7.1Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.
Have I Got News for You
1990
5.6Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities.
Wogan
1982
7.0World in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.
World in Action
1963
7.8The adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
7.1Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996
8.0Aziraphale and Crowley, of Heaven and Hell respectively, have grown rather fond of the Earth. So it's terrible news that it's about to end. The armies of Good and Evil are amassing. The Four Horsemen are ready to ride. Everything is going according to the Divine Plan...except that someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist. Can our heroes find him and stop Armageddon before it's too late?
Good Omens
2019
6.0Antiques experts accompany celebrities on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip
2011
5.3An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.
An Audience with...
1978
6.4The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1955
6.0Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long-running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master. Magnus Magnusson was quizmaster on the 2003/04 episodes featuring Jonathan Meades as winner.
Celebrity Mastermind
2003
7.4The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, who do parodies of films, literature and sometimes major events.
The Comic Strip Presents...
1982
7.4The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, who do parodies of films, literature and sometimes major events.
The Comic Strip Presents...
1982
8.5No synopsis available yet.
Benny Hill Show
1980
7.2The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show that starred Benny Hill and aired in various incarnations between 15 January 1955 and 30 May 1991 in over 140 countries. The show focused on sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody, and double-entendre. Thames Television cancelled production of the show in 1989 due to declining ratings and large production costs at £450,000 per show.
The Benny Hill Show
1969
No synopsis available yet.
Style Challenge
1996
5.7Surprise, Surprise is a British television programme originally hosted by Cilla Black and produced by London Weekend Television for ITV. It ran for 14 series from 6 May 1984 to 5 September 1997, after which four annual specials were produced between 1998 to 2001. In 2012, the show returned after a 11-year hiatus. The revived version is produced by ITV Studios and presented by Holly Willoughby. The show is currently in its second series.
Surprise, Surprise
1984
7.0A crime drama set in Southampton following a team of detectives and the cases they solve.
Target
1977
6.0The clock is ticking as contestants compete in games of lexical dexterity and numerical agility.
Countdown
1982
7.5The New Statesman is a British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time.
The New Statesman
1987
7.9A British comedy television series with turns of phrase and elaborate wordplay, written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
A Bit of Fry & Laurie
1989
7.7Investigative reporter Chris Morris puts modern Britain under the spotlight, and smacks the issues of the day till they bleed. He tackles weighty issues including animals, drugs, sex and skewered celebrities and politicians alike - and in a later episode in 2001, paedophiles.
Brass Eye
1997
5.8Classic Doctor Who duos are reunited as they board a very special TARDIS on a nostalgic voyage through space and time.
Tales of the Tardis
2023
6.7Cluedo was a UK television game show based on the board game of the same name. Each week, a reenactment of the murder at the stately home Arlington Grange of a visiting guest was played and, through a combination of interrogating the suspects and deduction, celebrity guests had to discover who committed the murder, which of six weapons and in which room it was committed, whilst viewers were invited to play along at home.
Cluedo
1990
NRNo synopsis available yet.
All Star Mr & Mrs
2008
6.3Bodger and Badger is a BBC children's comedy programme which was first broadcast in 1989. It starred Andy Cunningham as Simon Bodger, who had a badly behaved companion, a talking badger with a love for mashed potatoes.
Bodger and Badger
1989
7.7Two teams of three alternate between giving and guessing the meanings of obscure English words.
Call My Bluff
1965
6.0The Ugliest Girl in Town is a short-lived American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC. It ran from September 26, 1968 to January 30, 1969. Timothy Blair is a Hollywood talent agent. He falls in love with Julie Renfield, a British actress who is visiting the United States to do a movie. After that movie is finished, she returns to England. To assist his brother Gene complete a photography assignment, Timothy dresses as a hippie and poses for a photo shoot. The photos are sent to a modeling agent in England who assumes that they are of a woman. He offers "her" a job. Knowing that this would be the only chance to go to Great Britain and be with Julie, Tim accepts and dubs himself "Timmie". Tim has two weeks of vacation to spend as much time with Julie as he can, but when as he is about to leave with his brother, Gene loses £11,000 gambling. Unless he pays him back, Tim has to continue being Timmie for a while longer. In 2002, TV Guide ranked the series number 18 on its '50 Worst TV Shows of All Time' list.
The Ugliest Girl in Town
1968
NRNo synopsis available yet.
The Alphabet Game
1996
6.3Spatz is a children's comedy series that ran on CITV during the 1990s, produced by Thames Television and created by Andrew Bethell. The show originally ran from 21 February 1990 to 10 April 1992. The show centred around a fast food restaurant situated in a fictional shopping mall in Cricklewood, London. It was operated by two Canadians, Karen Hansson, Spatz International's European Co-ordinator, and Thomas "TJ" Strickland, the restaurant's manager. Vas Blackwood, Stephanie Charles, Jonathan Copestake, Sue Devaney, Joe Greco, Katy Murphy and Ling Tai appeared as Spatz restaurant employees. Guest stars included David Harewood, Rhys Ifans, Gary Lineker, Danny John-Jules and Nicholas Parsons.
Spatz
1990
NRWhat the Dickens is a television panel game hosted by Sandi Toksvig. Team captains were Dave Gorman and Tim Brooke-Taylor for the first series and Sue Perkins and Chris Addison for the second and third. It is recorded at Sky Studios in West London.
What the Dickens?
2008
6.6Four Feather Falls was the third puppet TV show produced by Gerry Anderson for Granada Television. It was based on an idea by Barry Gray, who also wrote the show's music. The series was the first to use an early version of Anderson's Supermarionation puppetry. Thirty-nine 13-minute episodes were produced, broadcast by Granada from February until November 1960. The setting is the late 19th-century fictional Kansas town of Four Feather Falls, where the hero of the series, Tex Tucker, is sheriff. The four feathers of the title refers to four magical feathers given to Tex by the Indian chief Kalamakooya as a reward for saving his grandson: two allowed Tex's guns to swivel and fire without being touched whenever he was in danger, and two conferred the power of speech on Tex's horse and dog. Tex's speaking voice was provided by Nicholas Parsons, and his singing voice by Michael Holliday. The series has never been repeated on British television, but it was released on DVD in 2005.
Four Feather Falls
1960
NRDavid Tennant hosts the competition to determine which of Britain's comedians have the biggest fountain of funny knowledge
Comedy World Cup
2012
NRPrior to Stingray, Gerry Anderson produced three series in black and white - their only colour representation being a small number of on-set stills taken during production. Using these as a basis, key episodes of Four Feather Falls, Supercar and Fireball XL5 have been colourised from High Definition remasters using state-of-the-art software, enabling fans to see their favourite shows in a whole new way!
Presented in Supercolorisation
2022
9.5Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy and television panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003. The object of the game is for panellists to talk for sixty seconds on a given subject, "without repetition, hesitation or deviation". The comedy comes from attempts to keep within these rules and the banter among the participants. In 2011 comedy writer David Quantick ascribed Just a Minute's success to its "insanely basic" format, stating, "It's so blank that it can be filled by people as diverse as Paul Merton and Graham Norton, who don't have to adapt their style of humour to the show at all."
Just a Minute
2012
6.0Frank Sidebottom's very own TV show, broadcast from the converted shed that functioned as his showbiz HQ. Also featuring diminutive sidekick Little Frank, the shows include Frank’s take on Crimewatch, Timperley’s contribution to Manchester’s Olympic bid, pioneering rocket science in the back garden, and even a staging of Live Aid 2!
Frank Sidebottom's Fantastic Shed Show
1992
Bill Pierce is a public relations officer in a large London store who is always on hand when things go wrong behind the scenes.
The Adventures of the Big Man
1956
No synopsis available yet.
Good Morning Summer
1995
A look at the impact of television on British culture.
How TV Changed Britain
2008
No synopsis available yet.
Feast
2009



