Best of British Television
by Dragonlover-d-a | created - 18 Sep 2012 | updated - 24 Jan 2013 | PublicA list of what I believe to be the best TV shows in Britain. In no particular order of course.
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1. Doctor Who (2005–2022)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Smith
Votes: 246,412
2. Torchwood (2006–2011)
TV-MA | 50 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
The members of the Torchwood Institute, a secret organization founded by the British Crown, fight to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats.
Stars: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen, Gareth David-Lloyd
Votes: 43,435
3. Gavin & Stacey (2007–2024)
TV-14 | 29 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Gavin and Stacey have been continuing their romance on-line and by telephone for the last six months. Now they want to be together but will their friends and family let them?
Stars: Joanna Page, Mathew Horne, Alison Steadman, Ruth Jones
Votes: 22,683
4. QI (2003– )
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Game-Show
A comedy panel game in which being Quite Interesting is more important than being right. Sandi Toksvig is joined each week by four comedians to share anecdotes and trivia, and maybe answer some questions as well.
Stars: Alan Davies, Stephen Fry, Sandi Toksvig, Bill Bailey
Votes: 33,603
5. Would I Lie to You? (2007– )
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Game-Show
Two teams, lead by their team leader (either Lee Mack or David Mitchell), have to try and make the other team believe their crazy stories.
Stars: David Mitchell, Lee Mack, Rob Brydon, Paul Ridley
Votes: 9,681
6. Green Wing (2004–2007)
TV-14 | 65 min | Comedy, Drama
Funky hospital-based sketch-comedy-drama type show.
Stars: Sally Bretton, Oliver Chris, Olivia Colman, Michelle Gomez
Votes: 12,774
7. Black Books (2000–2004)
TV-PG | 25 min | Comedy
Bernard Black runs a book shop, though his customer service skills leave something to be desired. He hires Manny as an employee. Fran runs the shop next door. Between the three of them many adventures ensue.
Stars: Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Tamsin Greig, Paul Beech
Votes: 61,905
8. Dirk Gently (2010–2012)
58 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Holistic detective Gently relies on the universe to unravel mysteries based on the 'interconnectedness of all things'.
Stars: Stephen Mangan, Darren Boyd, Lisa Jackson, Jason Watkins
Votes: 3,504
9. Sherlock (2010–2017)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The quirky spin on Conan Doyle's iconic sleuth pitches him as a "high-functioning sociopath" in modern-day London. Assisting him in his investigations: Afghanistan War vet John Watson, who's introduced to Holmes by a mutual acquaintance.
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves
Votes: 997,401
10. Marple (2004–2013)
TV-14 | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An elderly spinster living in the village of St. Mary Mead helps her friends and relatives solve mysterious murders.
Stars: Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie, Stephen Churchett, Isabella Parriss
Votes: 10,657
11. Poirot (1989–2013)
TV-14 | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Hercule Poirot, a famous Belgian detective, who has an impeccable knack for getting embroiled in a mystery, solves crimes along with Captain Hastings and Scotland Yard Chief Inspector James Japp.
Stars: David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran
Votes: 52,033
12. Miranda (2009–2015)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
Socially inept Miranda always gets into awkward situations; working in her joke shop with best friend Stevie, being hounded by her pushy mother, and around her crush Gary.
Stars: Miranda Hart, Patricia Hodge, Tom Ellis, Sarah Hadland
Votes: 17,133
13. Smack the Pony (1999–2017)
TV-14 | 24 min | Comedy
Three female comics perform sketches dealing with a wide variety of topics, from irritating flatmates to workplace issues to people who pretend to be ill to get free things or special treatment.
Stars: Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan, Sally Phillips, Sarah Alexander
Votes: 2,255
14. Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy
The wild misadventures of Edina "Eddy" Monsoon and her best friend Patsy Stone, who live in a nearly constant haze of drugged, drunken selfishness.
Stars: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield
Votes: 21,513
15. Call the Midwife (2012– )
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, History
Chronicles the lives of a group of midwives living in East London in the late 1950s to late 1960s.
Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, Laura Main, Jenny Agutter, Stephen McGann
Votes: 31,451
16. Horrible Histories (2009–2024)
28 min | Comedy, Family, History
A group of British comedians show the sides of history they don't teach you in school. From the 'Savage Stone Age' to the 'Troublesome 20th Century', you see the full side to history.
Stars: Jim Howick, Simon Farnaby, Mathew Baynton, Martha Howe-Douglas
Votes: 6,000
17. The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011)
TV-PG | 30 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, with the help of her adopted son, his friends, and an intelligent supercomputer, combats evil alien forces here on Earth.
Stars: Elisabeth Sladen, Daniel Anthony, Alexander Armstrong, Tommy Knight
Votes: 6,750
18. An Idiot Abroad (2010–2012)
TV-14 | 43 min | Documentary, Adventure, Comedy
British comedy duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant send their simple and closed-minded friend Karl Pilkington on a trip around the world to experience a variety of people and cultures.
Stars: Karl Pilkington, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Richard Yee
Votes: 34,301
19. My Family (2000–2011)
TV-14 | 50 min | Comedy
Ben Harper, a misanthropic dentist, has little time for most people, including his wife Susan, and their children Nick, Janey, and Michael.
Stars: Robert Lindsay, Zoë Wanamaker, Gabriel Thomson, Daniela Denby-Ashe
Votes: 10,536
20. Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2007–2011)
TV-MA | 30 min | Drama
Based on the popular diary of the anonymous sex worker known only as Belle de Jour.
Stars: Billie Piper, Iddo Goldberg, Cherie Lunghi, Ashley Madekwe
Votes: 14,257
21. The Office (2001–2003)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, Lucy Davis
Votes: 123,101
22. The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2009)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
Sketches by Catherine Tate and her comedy troupe.
Stars: Catherine Tate, Mathew Horne, Niky Wardley, Derren Litten
Votes: 4,294
23. Mrs. Brown's Boys (2011– )
TV-MA | 25 min | Comedy
A comedy centered on a loud-mouthed Irish matriarch whose favorite pastime is meddling in the lives of her six children.
Stars: Brendan O'Carroll, Jennifer Gibney, Eilish O'Carroll, Paddy Houlihan
Votes: 9,588
24. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,096
25. The Mighty Boosh (2003–2007)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
Surreal British comedy in which Vince Noir and Howard Moon have adventures filled with oddball characters while working as Zoo Keepers, before pursuing a musical career and running a second-hand shop.
Stars: Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher
Votes: 24,025
26. Are You Being Served? (1972–1985)
TV-PG | 28 min | Comedy
The misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store.
Stars: Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton, Wendy Richard
Votes: 9,223
27. Little Britain (2003–2006)
TV-MA | 29 min | Comedy
Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the creators of this character-comedy sketch show, delight in all that is mad, bad, quirky and generally bonkers about the people and places of Britain.
Stars: Matt Lucas, David Walliams, Tom Baker, Paul Putner
Votes: 26,108
28. Russell Brand's Ponderland (2007–2009)
30 min | Comedy
Comedian, Russell Brand hosts a TV show where each weeks he comments on a series of clips from old archive footage. Each clip that week carries a certain topic regarding the bizarre nature of them.
Star: Russell Brand
Votes: 399
29. Russell Howard's Good News (2009–2015)
60 min | Comedy, News
British comedian Russell Howard shares his views on the topical news of the previous week.
Stars: Russell Howard, Colin Hoult, Bryan Lawrence, Steve Hall
Votes: 3,043
30. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy
The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.
Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle
Votes: 78,760
31. Scott & Bailey (2011–2016)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Detectives Janet Scott & Rachel Bailey investigate murders with Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Tony Mooney, David Prosho
Votes: 11,027
32. The IT Crowd (2006–2013)
TV-14 | 25 min | Comedy
The comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss and their grifting supervisor Jen, a rag-tag team of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.
Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, Matt Berry
Votes: 164,306
33. Peep Show (2003–2015)
TV-MA | 25 min | Comedy
Mark and Jez are a couple of twenty-something roommates who have nothing in common - except for the fact that their lives are anything but normal. Mayhem ensues as the pair strive to cope with day-to-day life.
Stars: David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Matt King, Olivia Colman
Votes: 66,545
34. Merlin (2008–2012)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
These are the brand new adventures of Merlin, the legendary sorcerer as a young man, when he was just a servant to young Prince Arthur on the royal court of Camelot, who has soon become his best friend, and turned Arthur into a great king and a legend.
Stars: John Hurt, Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Richard Wilson
Votes: 87,210
35. Being Human (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost try to live together and get along.
Stars: Lenora Crichlow, Russell Tovey, Aidan Turner, Sinéad Keenan
Votes: 26,527
36. Blackadder (1982–1983)
TV-PG | 195 min | Comedy
In the Middle Ages, Prince Edmund the Black Adder constantly schemes and endeavors to seize the crown from his father and brother.
Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray, Tim McInnerny
Votes: 41,058
37. Mr. Bean (1990–1995)
Not Rated | 25 min | Comedy, Family
Bumbling, childlike Mr. Bean has trouble completing the simplest of day-to-day tasks, but his perseverance and resourcefulness frequently allow him to find ingenious ways around problems.
Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Matilda Ziegler, Robin Driscoll, Matthew Ashforde
Votes: 133,220
38. Kill It, Cook It, Eat It (2007– )
60 min | Documentary
Stars: Julia Bradbury, Richard Johnson, Rachel Green, Barry Newton
Votes: 37
39. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (2008)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The story of Tess Durbeyfield, a low-born country girl whose family find they have noble connections.
Stars: Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, Ruth Jones, Hans Matheson
Votes: 6,620
40. On the Buses (1969–1973)
30 min | Comedy
Jack-the-lad bus driver and conductor Stan and Jack enjoy the female employees more than their work and Inspector Blake is relentless in his attempts to make their lives a misery.
Stars: Anna Karen, Bob Grant, Stephen Lewis, Reg Varney
Votes: 2,651
41. Antiques Roadshow (1997– )
TV-G | Reality-TV
Collectors discover that they can turn trash into treasure, thanks to the appraisal skills of the show's specialists in antiques and fine art; Mark L. Walberg hosts.
Stars: Mark L. Walberg, Simeon Lipman, Nicholas D. Lowry, Coral Peña
Votes: 1,341
42. Mary Queen of Shops (2007– )
60 min | Reality-TV
Retail guru Mary Portas helps independent fashion shop owners - the fleet-footed Davids of the retail world - fight back against the all-consuming high street Goliaths.
Stars: Mary Portas, Anne Booty, Becky Aleazu
Votes: 41
43. Misfits (2009–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A group of young offenders doing community service gets struck by lightning during a storm and start to develop superpowers.
Stars: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Joe Gilgun, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha
Votes: 107,279
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