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The Best Episodes of Play for Today

Drama

Every episode of Play for Today ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Play for Today!

The Best Episodes of Play for Today

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,...
  1. Background image for The Spongers
    8.5/10(79 votes)

    #1 - The Spongers

    S8:E14

    The story of a single mother of four living on welfare

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  2. Background image for United Kingdom
    8.5/10(32 votes)

    #2 - United Kingdom

    S12:E7

    Two men on a local council fight the system when forced with massive spending cuts.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  3. Background image for Spend, Spend, Spend
    8.1/10(80 votes)

    #3 - Spend, Spend, Spend

    S7:E12

    The rags-to-riches-to-rags story of a 1960s football pools winner, based on a true story

    Director:Unknown
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  4. Background image for Nipper
    8.1/10(17 votes)

    #4 - Nipper

    S8:E5

    Teenager Jimmy's life begins to unravel after the death of his father. With his mother promiscuous and his new stepfather and stepbrother difficult to get along with, he begins to fall into a cycle of petty crime and self harm.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  5. Background image for Under the Hammer
    8.1/10(16 votes)

    #5 - Under the Hammer

    S14:E8

    Concerning the life of the artist Vincent Van Gogh

    Writer:Unknown
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  6. Background image for Destiny
    8.0/10(32 votes)

    #6 - Destiny

    S8:E15

    A story dealing with racial tensions and fascism during a by-election in a West Midlands town

    Director:Mike Newell
    Writer:Unknown
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Play for Today

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  8. Background image for Our Day Out
    8.0/10(257 votes)

    #7 - Our Day Out

    S8:E16

    When a teacher takes a group of troubled school children on a school trip to Conwy in Wales, the children understand life outside of Liverpool.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  9. Background image for Rocky Marciano Is Dead
    7.9/10(15 votes)

    #8 - Rocky Marciano Is Dead

    S7:E3

    Harry Marcus is a former welterweight champion mourning the loss of the past and dreaming of a return to the glory years of boxing. When a squatter moves in next door, does he have what it takes to fulfil Harry's dreams?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  10. Background image for Abigail's Party
    7.9/10(2.5k votes)

    #9 - Abigail's Party

    S8:E3

    Comedy of manners focusing on the bourgeois affectation and sexual frustration of a young married couple. Abigail's mother Sue is invited to take refuge from her teenage daughter's party with a neighbouring couple, Beverly and Laurence. They have also invited Angela and Tony, new arrivals in the street. Beverly plies her guests with alcohol as Sue becomes increasingly withdrawn and embarrassed by the pretentious goings-on. Slowly, marital tensions emerge and the evening is breaking up in disarray.

    Director:Mike Leigh
    Writer:Mike Leigh
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  11. Background image for Too Late to Talk to Billy
    7.9/10(95 votes)

    #10 - Too Late to Talk to Billy

    S12:E16

    A family in Belfast deals with life after the death of the mother from cancer

    Director:Paul Seed
    Writer:Unknown
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  12. Background image for Shakespeare or Bust
    7.8/10(50 votes)

    #11 - Shakespeare or Bust

    S3:E11

    The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge

    Writer:Unknown
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  13. Background image for The Operation
    7.8/10(16 votes)

    #12 - The Operation

    S3:E18

    David Adler is an operator. He strips assets, other men's wives, and his oldest friend's soul - anything for a cool million.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  14. Background image for The Price of Coal: Meet The People
    7.8/10(109 votes)

    #13 - The Price of Coal: Meet The People

    S7:E14

    A pair of plays, broadcast over two weeks, about mining life: ""Meet the People,"" about a coal mining community preparing for a royal visit, and ""Back to Reality,"" about a coal mining disaster that brings tragedy to a community.

    Director:Ken Loach
    Writer:Unknown
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  15. Background image for One Day at a Time
    7.8/10(14 votes)

    #14 - One Day at a Time

    S8:E6

    "People coming to their first AA meeting, prosperous people, sometimes, accustomed to the best. They look round the places where we meet, and you can see them thinking: what am I doing here? I owe my life to these rooms!"

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  16. Background image for Willie's Last Stand
    7.8/10(22 votes)

    #15 - Willie's Last Stand

    S12:E17

    Willie and his friends notice the passage of time around them, and how society is changing as their marriages stagnate. Can Willie prove to himself that he still has it, by being able to cheat on his wife just once?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  17. Background image for The Price of Coal: Back To Reality
    7.7/10(83 votes)

    #16 - The Price of Coal: Back To Reality

    S7:E15

    A pair of plays, broadcast over two weeks, about mining life: ""Meet the People,"" about a coal mining community preparing for a royal visit, and ""Back to Reality,"" about a coal mining disaster that brings tragedy to a community.

    Director:Ken Loach
    Writer:Unknown
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  18. Background image for The General's Day
    7.6/10(32 votes)

    #17 - The General's Day

    S3:E7

    An elderly general woos a shy school teacher.

    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:Unknown
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  19. Background image for Only Make Believe
    7.6/10(22 votes)

    #18 - Only Make Believe

    S3:E16

    As a playwright dictates notes about his newest play to his secretary, scenes from the play are acted out.

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  20. Background image for The Bar Mitzvah Boy
    7.6/10(115 votes)

    #19 - The Bar Mitzvah Boy

    S7:E1

    A story exploring the emotions of a boy undrgoing the traditional Jewish ceremony

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  21. Background image for Your Man from Six Counties
    7.6/10(40 votes)

    #20 - Your Man from Six Counties

    S7:E6

    A young man from Belfast is sent south to stay with relatives in an attempt to keep him out of trouble.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  22. Background image for Oy Vay Maria
    7.6/10(20 votes)

    #21 - Oy Vay Maria

    S8:E4

    The story of the romance between a Jewish boy and an Irish Catholic girl

    Writer:Unknown
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  23. Background image for Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain
    7.6/10(14 votes)

    #22 - Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain

    S12:E5

    In Belfast, Ruby has a cold and is caught in the rain while Iris is looking for work and gets caught in traffic

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  24. Background image for Young Shoulders
    7.6/10(55 votes)

    #23 - Young Shoulders

    S14:E2

    Cynical teenager Andrew Groves re-evaluates his attitude to life and his parents after his sister dies in a plane crash.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  25. Background image for Land of Green Ginger
    7.5/10(38 votes)

    #24 - Land of Green Ginger

    S3:E12

    Faced with the prospect of being sent to work abroad, Sally Brown returns home from London to Hull, to see if she still feels the same attachment for her home town - and for her old boyfriend Mike Thurlow. Will she decide to take the job abroad or return to live with Mike in Hull?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  26. Background image for A Photograph
    7.5/10(105 votes)

    #25 - A Photograph

    S7:E13

    A couple receives a photograph in the mail of two girls sitting in front of a caravan and neither can identify the people or the place.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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Best Episodes Summary

"The Spongers" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today". It scored 8.5/10 based on 79 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/24/1978. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "United Kingdom".