The Best TV Shows on ITV1

Every ITV1 Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Highlighting ITV1’s quality programming, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Opportunity Knocks stand out, premiering in 1955 and 1956. As of August 2026, our compilation of ITV1’s top-rated series boasts over 20 unique shows. From 1955 through to 2013, ITV1 has accumulated a diverse collection of over 20 television shows.

  • Agatha Christie's Poirot
    Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989)8.2

    From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.

  • Downton Abbey
    Downton Abbey (2010)8.1

    A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

  • Endeavour
    Endeavour (2013)8.1

    The early days of a young Endeavour Morse, whose experiences as a detective constable with the Oxford City Police will ultimately shape his future.

  • The Avengers
    The Avengers (1961)7.8

    A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).

  • Agatha Christie's Marple
    Agatha Christie's Marple (2004)7.8

    The 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.

  • Midsomer Murders
    Midsomer Murders (1997)7.5

    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 Saint
    The Saint (1962)7.4

    Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.

  • Vera
    Vera (2011)7.4

    A sharp detective with a messy life, DCI Vera Stanhope patrols her “patch” of northeast England, pursuing the truth in cases of murder, kidnapping, and blackmail. Vera is obsessive about her work and faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.

  • Minder
    Minder (1979)7.2

    Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley.

  • World in Action
    World in Action (1963)7.0

    World 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.

  • Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
    Mr. Bean: The Animated Series (2002)6.9

    The animated daily trials and tribulations of clueless yet clever loner Mr Bean (aided by his best friend Teddy of course!) as he stumbles from one mishap to the next, always finding complex solutions to the simplest of problems.

  • Thomas & Friends
    Thomas & Friends (1984)6.8

    Thomas & Friends is a British children's television series, which had its first broadcast on the ITV network on 4 September 1984. It is based on The Railway Series of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. These books deal with the adventures of a group of anthropomorphised locomotives and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. The books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher during his recovery from measles. From Series one to four, many of the stories are based on events from Awdry's personal experience.

  • University Challenge
    University Challenge (1962)6.5

    Academic quiz show where teams of students from UK universities answer questions on all manner of subjects.

  • The Adventures of Robin Hood
    The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955)6.4

    The 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.

  • Crown Court
    Crown Court (1972)5.7

    Crown Court is an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984.

  • Coronation Street
    Coronation Street (1960)5.4

    The residents of Coronation Street are ordinary, working-class people, and the show follows them through regular social and family interactions at home, in the workplace, and in their local pub, the Rovers Return Inn. Britain's longest-running soap.

  • Emmerdale
    Emmerdale (1972)4.3

    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.

  • Loose Women
    Loose Women (1999)3.4

    A panel of four women discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs to celebrity gossip.

  • Opportunity Knocks
    Opportunity Knocks (1956)N/A

    A radio, and later television, talent show originally hosted by Hughie Green, with a late-1980s revival hosted by Bob Monkhouse, and later by previous winner Les Dawson.

  • CITV Breakfast
    CITV Breakfast (1999)N/A

    CITV Breakfast is a British digital television station owned by ITV Breakfast Limited, part of ITV plc. It broadcasts every morning between 06:00 and 09:25. It was originally designed to complement its sister channel GMTV, and offered children's programming every day. On weekdays teleshopping was shown for the first half hour until 6.30am followed by Action Stations! until 9.25am. Weekends changed to pre-school programming, with Wakey! Wakey! airing 06:00 to 09:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. A teleshopping strand was featured on Saturdays and Sundays airing from 09:00-09:25. A repeat of The Sunday Programme was aired at 07:55-08:55 each Sunday from 1999-2008. The station closed down at 09:25, although viewers didn't notice any changeover between GMTV2 and CITV. On 17 March 2008, ITV2 and its one-hour timeshift channel have been broadcasting 24 hours a day, meaning GMTV2 programming moved from ITV2 to ITV4, broadcasting its usual hours. The stand continues to be simulcast on CITV. As of November 2006, a one hour delayed version of GMTV2 had been available on ITV2+1 on Sky and also on Freeview, running from 07:00 to 10:25, however due to the change from ITV2 to ITV4, GMTV2 was available one hour later on ITV4+1 on Sky Channel 180.