The Best TV Shows on BBC One

Every BBC One Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Discover the best of BBC One with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for October 2026. Showcasing over 20 shows from 1953 up until N/A, BBC One stands as a beacon of television excellence. Some of the best tv shows from BBC One include Panorama and Doctor Who, airing in 1953 and 1963 respectively.

  • 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.

  • Ready, Steady, Cook
    Ready, Steady, Cook (1994)8.0

    Talented chefs battle it out against the clock, creating delicious dishes in 20 minutes

  • 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.

  • Jane Eyre
    Jane Eyre (2006)7.7

    Charlotte Bronte's classic about an orphan girl who grows up to become a governess in a gloomy manor in Yorkshire, where she falls in love with the mysterious Edward Rochester.

  • Match of the Day
    Match of the Day (1964)7.6

    BBC's football highlights and analysis. "The longest-running football television programme in the world" as recognised by Guinness World Records in 2015.

  • Silent Witness
    Silent Witness (1996)7.6

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

  • 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.

  • Call the Midwife
    Call the Midwife (2012)7.6

    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.

  • 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.

  • Have I Got a Bit More News for You
    Have I Got a Bit More News for You (N/A)7.2

    Based on the week’s news and fronted by guest hosts, this extended version of the satirical news quiz features more of the stuff that wouldn't fit into the regular programme.

  • Have I Got News for You
    Have I Got News for You (1990)7.1

    Hilarious, 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.

  • 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.

  • Play for Today
    Play for Today (1970)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.

  • Panorama
    Panorama (1953)6.3

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

  • Casualty
    Casualty (1986)6.2

    Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

  • Newsnight
    Newsnight (1980)6.0

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

  • Holby City
    Holby City (1999)5.8

    Drama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.

  • The One Show
    The One Show (2006)4.4

    A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.

  • EastEnders
    EastEnders (1985)4.3

    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.