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The Best Episodes of Play for Today

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

Binge this in 16d 7h•Peaking at 8.9/10

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

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Play for Today Season 11 Episode 17 - The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner
    8.9/10(27 votes)

    #1 - The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner

    S11:E17

    A group of men hold a reunion dinner in Tokyo

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 19 - The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
    8.6/10(49 votes)

    #2 - The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil

    S4:E19

    The exploitation of the Scottish land and its people from the 18th century to the present

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Play for Today Season 12 Episode 7 - United Kingdom
    8.6/10(32 votes)

    #3 - 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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  4. Play for Today Season 8 Episode 14 - The Spongers
    8.5/10(81 votes)

    #4 - The Spongers

    S8:E14

    The story of a single mother of four living on welfare

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Play for Today Season 9 Episode 13 - Waterloo Sunset
    8.4/10(21 votes)

    #5 - Waterloo Sunset

    S9:E13

    A young man and an old woman try to fit in when their neighborhood goes West Indian

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Play for Today Season 11 Episode 12 - The Muscle Market
    8.4/10(57 votes)

    #6 - The Muscle Market

    S11:E12

    The problems of an owner of a building contractor company in Liverpool

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Alan Bleasdale

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Play for Today

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  7. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 18 - A Time to Keep
    8.3/10(108 votes)

    #7 - A Time to Keep

    S2:E18

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Play for Today Season 11 Episode 5 - Minor Complications
    8.3/10(9 votes)

    #8 - Minor Complications

    S11:E5

    Kay Gilbert goes into hospital for a minor operation which goes badly wrong. This play tells the story of her fight for compensation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Play for Today Season 5 Episode 8 - Gangsters
    8.2/10(61 votes)

    #9 - Gangsters

    S5:E8

    A story exploring the Birmingham underworld

    Director:Philip Saville
    Writer:Philip Martin

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  10. Play for Today Season 6 Episode 10 - Rumpole of the Bailey
    8.2/10(170 votes)

    #10 - Rumpole of the Bailey

    S6:E10

    Rumpole defends a young West Indian boy accused of attempted murder.

    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:John Mortimer

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  11. Play for Today Season 7 Episode 12 - Spend, Spend, Spend
    8.2/10(82 votes)

    #11 - 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
    Writer:Jack Rosenthal

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  12. Play for Today Season 8 Episode 15 - Destiny
    8.2/10(31 votes)

    #12 - 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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  13. Play for Today Season 10 Episode 3 - Comedians
    8.2/10(73 votes)

    #13 - Comedians

    S10:E3

    Budding comedians take an evening class taught by a retired performer and, for their final exam, must perform for an impresario in a nightclub.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Play for Today Season 10 Episode 4 - Even Solomon
    8.2/10(16 votes)

    #14 - Even Solomon

    S10:E4

    Stephen Piper is a quiet young man. A virgin, he shows no interest in sex, and is cruelly scorned by an aggressive female neighbour when he rebuffs her advances. He lives with his mother, an overbearing woman who mocks him for being wet. But Stephen has a secret. An accurate and heartfelt depiction of the challenges he faces and a fascinating glimpse at the gender politics of the day.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Play for Today Season 11 Episode 8 - The Flipside of Dominick Hide
    8.2/10(361 votes)

    #15 - The Flipside of Dominick Hide

    S11:E8

    Dominick Hide, a time traveller from London in the year 2130, is studying the city's transport system of 1980. Breaking the rules, he lands his craft to seek out his great-grandfather. Compared to his anaesthetised home, 80s London is filthy and polluted...and yet...it exudes an excitement that soon draws him in.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Jeremy Paul

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  16. Play for Today Season 14 Episode 8 - Under the Hammer
    8.2/10(15 votes)

    #16 - Under the Hammer

    S14:E8

    Concerning the life of the artist Vincent Van Gogh

    Director:Richard Wilson
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 20 - Schmoedipus
    8.1/10(73 votes)

    #17 - Schmoedipus

    S4:E20

    A young man persuades a woman that he is her son.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Dennis Potter

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  18. Play for Today Season 5 Episode 1 - Leeds--United!
    8.1/10(79 votes)

    #18 - Leeds--United!

    S5:E1

    About a strike in a textile factory, based on a true story

    Director:Roy Battersby
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Play for Today Season 5 Episode 17 - The Saturday Party
    8.1/10(29 votes)

    #19 - The Saturday Party

    S5:E17

    When a stockbroker loses his job, he decides to throw a party.

    Director:Barry Davis
    Writer:Brian Clark

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  20. Play for Today Season 7 Episode 3 - Rocky Marciano Is Dead
    8.1/10(14 votes)

    #20 - 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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  21. Play for Today Season 10 Episode 2 - Cries from a Watchtower
    8.1/10(17 votes)

    #21 - Cries from a Watchtower

    S10:E2

    A watchmaker finds his livelihood is threatened by cheaply imported digital watches.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Play for Today Season 10 Episode 20 - Kate, the Good Neighbour
    8.1/10(15 votes)

    #22 - Kate, the Good Neighbour

    S10:E20

    A compassionate elderly woman comes to the realization that she can no longer care for herself or others.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 2 - Edna, the Inebriate Woman
    8.0/10(185 votes)

    #23 - Edna, the Inebriate Woman

    S2:E2

    Edna, the Inebriate Woman is a British television drama written by Jeremy Sandford which was transmitted by the BBC as part of the Play for Today series on 21 October 1971. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, Irene Shubik produced it. The play deals with an elderly woman, Edna, who wanders through life in an alcoholic haze without a home, a job or any money. A rambling, pathetic yet defiant woman, Edna sleeps rough and begs for food and shelter and the drama follows her progress as she moves from hostel to hostel, going to a psychiatric ward and then prison along the way. Jeremy Sandford, who had previously written Cathy Come Home, researched the play by living rough himself for two weeks. A great deal of the dialogue and the incidents in the play come from the book, 'Down and Out in Britain' published by Jeremy Sandford in 1971; although the majority of the speakers in the book are male, Jeremy Sandford puts much of their speech into the mouth of the female character. The film features the only notable acting role of British actor Vivian MacKerrell, the real-life inspiration for the character Withnail in Withnail and I. At the 1972 British Academy Television Awards, the play won the Best Drama Production category, with Patricia Hayes receiving the award for Best Actress.

    Director:Ted Kotcheff
    Writer:Jeremy Sandford

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  24. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 1 - Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
    8.0/10(35 votes)

    #24 - Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

    S4:E1

    Mrs Palfrey tries hard to be accepted by the other residents at the Claremont. But then she meets Ludo and a real friendship begins.

    Director:Michael Lindsay-Hogg
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 21 - The Childhood Friend
    8.0/10(28 votes)

    #25 - The Childhood Friend

    S4:E21

    On holiday, with his family, nothing to do and his wife ill, Sasha is only too pleased to meet again the girl he loved at 17.

    Director:Mike Newell
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today". It scored 8.9/10 based on 27 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 2/17/1981. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil".