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The Worst Episodes of Play for Today

Every episode of Play for Today ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Play for Today!

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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 Worst Episode
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    Play for Today Season 1 Episode 5 - The Write-Off
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - The Write-Off

    S1:E5

    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:Rudi Dorn
    Writer:George Salverson

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  2. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 6 - I Can't See My Little Willie
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - I Can't See My Little Willie

    S1:E6

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

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Douglas Livingstone

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  3. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 7 - A Distant Thunder
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - A Distant Thunder

    S1:E7

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

    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Maurice Edelman

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  4. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 11 - Alma Mater
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Alma Mater

    S1:E11

    A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

    Director:James Ferman
    Writers:David Hodson, Dion Boucicault

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  5. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 12 - Circle Line
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - Circle Line

    S1:E12

    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:W. Stephen Gilbert

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  6. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 13 - Hell's Angel
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Hell's Angel

    S1:E13

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

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:Anthony Read

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  7. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 15 - Billy's Last Stand
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Billy's Last Stand

    S1:E15

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

    Director:John Glenister
    Writer:Barry Hines

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  8. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 17 - Reddick
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Reddick

    S1:E17

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

    Director:Mervyn Rosenzveig
    Writer:Munroe Scott

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  9. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 22 - The Man in the Sidecar
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - The Man in the Sidecar

    S1:E22

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

    Director:James MacTaggart
    Writer:Simon Gray

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  10. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 23 - Everybody Say Cheese
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Everybody Say Cheese

    S1:E23

    The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Douglas Livingstone

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  11. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 24 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree

    S1:E24

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 6 - Michael Regan
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Michael Regan

    S2:E6

    A man gets revenge on a pub owner

    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:Robert Holles

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  13. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 7 - Skin Deep
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Skin Deep

    S2:E7

    An awkward relationship develops between the families of a trade unionist and the regional manager when the son of the former wins a university scholarship from their employer.

    Director:Michael Lindsay-Hogg
    Writers:Jeremy Seabrook, Michael O'Neill

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  14. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 8 - Pal
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Pal

    S2:E8

    Two sworn enemies, one black and the other white, are forced to confront their prejudices when they are forced together by circumstance.

    Director:Silvio Narizzano
    Writer:Alun Owen

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  15. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 9 - The Pigeon Fancier
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - The Pigeon Fancier

    S2:E9

    A retired miner devotes his waking hours to his racing pigeons.

    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Peter Hankin

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  16. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 13 - The House on Highbury Hill
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - The House on Highbury Hill

    S2:E13

    A married couple move into the house on Highbury Hill and find some eccentric neighbours.

    Director:John Glenister
    Writer:Piers Paul Read

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  17. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 14 - In the Beautiful Caribbean
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - In the Beautiful Caribbean

    S2:E14

    A story about unemployment and the Black Movement in Jamaica

    Director:Philip Saville
    Writer:Barry Reckord

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  18. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 15 - Ackerman, Dougall and Harker
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Ackerman, Dougall and Harker

    S2:E15

    A salesman learns a few lessons from the locals when he goes to Yorkshire for a business course

    Director:Ted Kotcheff
    Writer:Don Shaw

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  19. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 17 - Cows
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Cows

    S2:E17

    A social worker tries to help a painfully shy young man and takes him for a visit to a country farm.

    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:Howard Barker

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  20. Play for Today Season 2 Episode 19 - The Fishing Party
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - The Fishing Party

    S2:E19

    The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going fishing

    Director:Michael Simpson
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 2 - A Life Is for Ever
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - A Life Is for Ever

    S3:E2

    The story of a man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing a cop

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Tony Parker

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  22. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 4 - Man Friday
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Man Friday

    S3:E4

    The story of Robinson Crusoe from Man Friday's viewpoint

    Director:James MacTaggart
    Writer:Adrian Mitchell

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  23. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 5 - Triple Exposure
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Triple Exposure

    S3:E5

    A hippie breaks into the house of a middle-aged couple and forms a relationship with them

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:David Halliwell

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  24. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 6 - Better than the Movies
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Better than the Movies

    S3:E6

    A man celebrating his birthday comes to appreciate the difference between media fantasy and mundane reality.

    Director:Roy Battersby
    Writer:John Elliot

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  25. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 14 - Highway Robbery
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Highway Robbery

    S3:E14

    A man fights council plans to demolish his home to make way for a new bypass.

    Director:Michael Apted
    Writers:Jeremy Seabrook, Michael O'Neill

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Worst Episodes Summary

"The Write-Off" is the worst rated episode of "Play for Today". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Rudi Dorn and written by George Salverson, it aired on 11/12/1970. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "I Can't See My Little Willie".