The Best TV Shows on BBC One

Every BBC One Show Ranked From Best To Worst

With its programming history stretching from 1953 to 2022, BBC One offers an impressive lineup of over 20 shows. Notable series such as Panorama and Hancock's Half Hour from BBC One first graced the screens in 1953 and 1956. Stay up-to-date with over 20 of BBC One’s elite series, with our list refreshed for August 2025.

  • Sherlock
    Sherlock (2010)8.5

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

  • Peaky Blinders
    Peaky Blinders (2013)8.5

    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.

  • Doctor Who
    Doctor Who (1963)7.9

    The 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.

  • Ghosts
    Ghosts (2019)7.9

    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.

  • One Foot in the Grave
    One Foot in the Grave (1990)7.6

    One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. The series was largely filmed on location in Walkford, near New Milton in Hampshire, although several clues show that the series may have been set in Hampshire – possibly Winchester. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.

  • Doctor Who
    Doctor Who (2005)7.6

    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.

  • Hancock's Half Hour
    Hancock's Half Hour (1956)7.5

    Hancock's Half Hour is a BBC television comedy series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock with Sid James. The final series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development.

  • Call the Midwife
    Call the Midwife (2012)7.5

    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.

  • Shetland
    Shetland (2013)7.5

    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.

  • Death in Paradise
    Death in Paradise (2011)7.4

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

  • The Graham Norton Show
    The Graham Norton Show (2007)7.2

    Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

  • Grange Hill
    Grange Hill (1978)6.7

    Children's drama series following the lives of students and teachers at Grange Hill comprehensive school.

  • Who Do You Think You Are?
    Who Do You Think You Are? (2004)6.7

    A British genealogy documentary series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, discovering secrets and surprises from their past.

  • Top of the Pops
    Top of the Pops (1964)6.6

    The biggest stars, the most iconic performances, the most outrageous outfits – it’s Britain’s number one pop show.

  • Panorama
    Panorama (1953)6.2

    Current affairs programme, featuring interviews and investigative reports on a wide variety of subjects.

  • Newsnight
    Newsnight (1980)6.2

    A daily BBC Television current affairs programme which specialises in analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians.

  • Strictly Come Dancing
    Strictly Come Dancing (2004)5.9

    A dance competition where celebrities compete to be crowned the winner. Who is kicked out of the competition each week is decided by the judges scores and viewer votes. Are today's celebrities fleet of foot or do they have two left feet?

  • Doctors
    Doctors (2000)4.8

    Set in the fictional Midlands town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the city of Birmingham, this soap opera follows the staff and families of a doctor's surgery.

  • EastEnders
    EastEnders (1985)4.2

    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.

  • Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
    Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (2022)2.7

    The big names behind the big stories. Laura Kuenssberg talks to those making the news, inside and outside politics.