The Best Episodes of Playhouse Presents

Policeman Stephen Graham discovers life in the city can be lonely after meeting residents Vanessa Redgrave and Samantha Bond during a call to a disturbance.

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Chris has a unique gift,the ability to heal the sick by touching them. He is also a germophobe,which makes him shy away from human contact and live a lonely,secluded life. His sister Eleanor is scornful of his inability to connect with the rest of his family but then he meets Mona,a new colleague and single mother and - in all likelihood - his very first date. But at the same time his mother May is admitted to hospital with cancer. Can his new-found confidence after meeting Mona enable him to save his mother's life?

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Hidden in an exclusive hotel, a cabal of powerful individuals debates international politics, economics and war. A chilling look at how an unelected few control the fate of the masses.

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This comedy puts history’s most famous women into the psychiatrist’s chair. Starring Rebecca Front as the therapist, and featuring Catherine Tate as Eva Braun and Édith Piaf, Sharon Horgan as Jane Austen and Frieda Kahlo, Katy Brand as Joan of Arc and George Eliot, Sheila Reid as Mother Theresa, Sam Spiro as Mary Whitehouse and Judy Garland, Selina Griffiths as Beatrix Potter and Andy Nyman as Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

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Ian Hart stars as 50-year-old John Lennon in a poignant and humorous look at how his life might have been if he had walked out of The Beatles in 1962.

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Two stressed social workers struggle to keep control of their private lives and chaotic office.

Director: Natalie Bailey

Writer: Jo Brand, Morwenna Banks

While on location in the Czech Republic for a remake of the vampire classic, our tormented lead flees the set in full Dracula costume. Teaming up with petty crook Fonso, his revenge against his director and his wife will involve his best acting talents - and twelve thousand rats.

Director: Peter Straughan

Writer: Peter Straughan

Starring Ricky Tomlinson, this story is based on Ricky’s true experiences campaigning for justice in an effort to overturn a verdict which sent him to jail for 2 years in the early 1970s. During his time in prison and on hunger strike, Ricky’s life is changed forever by a prison governor who encourages him to read Robert Tressell’s book The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.

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Drama about the burgeoning relationship between a World War II widow and her great-granddaughter.

Director: Tony Smith

Writer: Tim Firth

An intruder breaks into the Queen’s bedroom at dawn. They discuss love, family and personal freedom before the police arrive to take him away.

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Matt Smith makes his directorial debut with a tense and stylish drama about two teenagers stuck on a council estate. Written by Simon Stephens, it stars Craig Roberts.

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Comedy-drama starring Harry Shearer (This is Spinal Tap, The Simpsons) as Nixon. This is a verbatim account of Nixon’s time in the Oval office, based on more than 198 hours of recordings made between February 1971 and 1973. This brilliant film is a fascinating account of his controversial and often farcical time in office.

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Set in a post-apocalyptic Britain, a lone sniper (Henshall) must fend off plague carriers and rescue stranded communities in order to survive. But is this landscape of a destroyed civilisation all that it seems?

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Writer: Matthew Holness

Life imitates art as a successful TV writer and his actress wife’s failing marriage is mirrored in the show he writes and she stars in. But can they work out their problems on screen or is their relationship doomed to fail?

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Tina works part time as a cleaner. Ron’s been made redundant by the bottle factory. The lives of this long-term married couple are turned upside-down with the surprise visit of their best friend from the fifties and deep feelings are rekindled.

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Riding a wave of popular opinion after footage of her defiant stance against London rioters becomes an internet hit, an ordinary woman finds herself as the capital’s first female Mayor.

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Dudley and John are two old men who gain a new lease of life thanks to a voluntary space mission.

Director: Lawrence Gough

Writer: Ralf Little, Nick Moran

Two contrasting police officers tries to get through a long nightshift in South-East London.

Director: Bruce Goodison

Writer: Jimmy Gardner

In a funny and thought-provoking tale co-created by artist Grayson Perry, a transvestite battling with issues of self-doubt tries to overcome his fears.

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Idris Elba writes and directs this taut drama in which accountant Anna Friel strikes up a unique relationship with homeless man Nonso Anozie.

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Lonely man Jonah begins throwing his dog in the air and catching him after witnessing a charismatic man doing the same in a local park.

Director: Jon Ronson

Writer: Jon Ronson

Mobile Hairdresser Jacky is one week from her silver anniversary dream cruise. But is husband Andy's hesitation just simple concern - or are darker forces at play?

Director: Stewart Sugg

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In 1980s Hackney nine-year old Akuna's proud father sees him as the next Eddy Grant, but Akuna is asthmatic, which means he must attend a special school for children with disabilities and before long he has fallen foul of sadistic teacher Mr Grimme, who labels him Asthma Boy. Akuna however, with the help of a cheeky Scots fellow student, soon leads the rest of the class into humiliating Mr Grimme, making Akuna King for a Term

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Kylie Minogue, Mathew Horne and David Harewood star in Marc Warren's dark comedy-drama, exploring egos, superstition and rivalry in the theatre.

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Drama written by Will Self and starring David Tennant as Will, the artist, who observes life in minute detail, providing a witty and acerbic critique of his life. When a tragedy occurs, Will is forced to reconsider the trust he has in the urban-suburban, middle-class landscape of his middle-aged friends.

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