Play for Today backdrop
Play for Today poster
Drama

All Episodes of Play for Today

Browse all episodes of Play for Today

All 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,...
Select Season:

Season 1

  • The Long Distance Piano Player
    6.5/1033 votes

    The Long Distance Piano Player

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/15/1970

    A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing

    Director: Philip Saville

    Writer: Alan Sharp

  • The Right Prospectus
    6.2/1021 votes

    The Right Prospectus

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/22/1970

    A couple look for the proper school, not for their children but for themselves.

    Director: Alan Cooke

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Lie
    7.2/1091 votes

    The Lie

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/29/1970

    ""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.

    Director: Alan Bridges

    Writer: Ingmar Bergman

  • Angels Are So Few
    7.9/1050 votes

    Angels Are So Few

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/5/1970

    A man claiming to be an angel enters the household of a bored housewife and teaches the family a few lessons.

    Director: Gareth Davies

    Writer: Dennis Potter

  • The Write-Off
    N/A/100 votes

    The Write-Off

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/12/1970

    A man is made redundant but can't bring himself to let anyone know, plunging into a web of deceit as he keeps up the charade he is still in work.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • I Can't See My Little Willie
    N/A/100 votes

    I Can't See My Little Willie

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/19/1970

    A man has a mid-life crisis in his brother's pub where sees life as a game show

    Director: Alan Clarke

    Writer: Unknown

  • A Distant Thunder
    N/A/100 votes

    A Distant Thunder

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/26/1970

    A newly-appointed knight finds his celebrations cut short by someone who was witness to his treachery during the war.

    Director: James Ferman

    Writer: Unknown

  • Hearts and Flowers
    6.8/1041 votes

    Hearts and Flowers

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 12/3/1970

    A TV host and his architect brother attend their father's funeral

    Director: Christopher Morahan

    Writer: Unknown

  • Robin Redbreast
    7.2/10596 votes

    Robin Redbreast

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/1970

    A woman living in a country cottage thinks that someone is trying to get her.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Hallelujah Handshake
    7.4/1094 votes

    The Hallelujah Handshake

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/17/1970

    A petty thief and social misfit finagles his way into a church congregation

    Director: Alan Clarke

    Writer: Unknown

  • Alma Mater
    N/A/100 votes

    Alma Mater

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/7/1971

    A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

    Director: James Ferman

    Writer: Unknown

  • Circle Line
    N/A/100 votes

    Circle Line

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/14/1971

    A cynical student has a radically different view of life from his landlady, leading to conflict. Matters come to a head when he sleeps with her fourteen-year-old brother.

    Director: Claude Whatham

    Writer: Unknown

  • Hell's Angel
    N/A/100 votes

    Hell's Angel

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/21/1971

    A couple are distressed by the changes in their adopted teenage son when he joins a biker gang.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Piano
    7.8/1018 votes

    The Piano

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/28/1971

    An old couple refuse to move when they find out that they can't take their piano with them

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Billy's Last Stand
    N/A/100 votes

    Billy's Last Stand

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/4/1971

    Billy, a self-employed coal-shoveller, gains a seedy business partner and competition in the form of a rival coal-shoveller.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Rainbirds
    5.4/1019 votes

    The Rainbirds

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/11/1971

    A man who attempted suicide by jumping out a window is saved only to live in a coma, in which he has fantasies about his relatives and nightmare creatures.

    Director: Philip Saville

    Writer: Clive Exton

  • Reddick
    N/A/100 votes

    Reddick

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/18/1971

    Charges that the Rev 'Red' Reddick is exploiting his youth club members leads to an explosive confrontation.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Foxtrot
    5.6/1016 votes

    The Foxtrot

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/29/1971

    An odd menage a trois results when a woman and her lover are visited by her long-lost husband

    Director: Philip Saville

    Writer: Unknown

  • When the Bough Breaks
    7.7/1019 votes

    When the Bough Breaks

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 5/6/1971

    When an injured baby arrives at the hospital, a social worker looks for the parents

    Director: James Ferman

    Writer: Unknown

  • Orkney
    6.7/1019 votes

    Orkney

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 5/13/1971

    A trilogy of plays--A Time to Keep, The Whaler's Return, and Celia--exploring the life of the islanders in the past and present

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Rank and File
    6.9/1082 votes

    The Rank and File

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/20/1971

    The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970

    Director: Ken Loach

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Man in the Sidecar
    N/A/100 votes

    The Man in the Sidecar

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/27/1971

    A succesful novelist Edith lives with her husband and his friend, but she decides to ask the friend to leave.

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown

  • Everybody Say Cheese
    N/A/100 votes

    Everybody Say Cheese

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 6/3/1971

    The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

    Director: Alan Clarke

    Writer: Unknown

  • The Cellar and the Almond Tree
    N/A/100 votes

    The Cellar and the Almond Tree

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 6/10/1971

    No description available

    Director: Unknown

    Writer: Unknown