Screen One
British television series
Screen One is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, several of which were broadcast as stand-alone specials. The series was born following the demise of the BBC's Play for Today, which ran from 1970 to 1984. Producer Kenith Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas, the result of which was Screen Two, which began broadcasting on BBC2 in 1985. However, while Play for Today's style had often been a largely studio-based form of theatre on television, Screen Two was shot entirely on film. Three of the episodes ("The Accountant", "News Hounds" and "A Question of Attribution") won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama.
In 1989, the series was adapted for more mainstream audiences on BBC1, and Screen One was born to follow the lead taken by Channel 4, several of whose many television films had later been released in cinemas.
01Talent
Screen One attracted many names familiar to television and film audiences, including the likes of Peggy Ashcroft, Alfred Molina, Sean Bean, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone, Alan Bates, Judi Dench, James Fox, Keith Allen, Bob Peck, Alun Armstrong, Marina Sirtis, David Jason, Brenda Blethyn, James Bolam, Adrian Edmondson, Alison Steadman, Timothy West, Clive Russell, Helen Baxendale, Janet McTeer and Michael Murphy. Several actors also made their on-screen debuts during the series, including Keira Knightley in the fifth series episode Royal Celebration.
02Demise
By 1993, the prevailing mood within the BBC was to move away from single dramas and concentrate production on series and serials, and as such, a reduced six-episode series, broadcast in 1994, was to be the last full-length series of Screen One, although a further eight one-off specials followed up to 1998.
03Transmissions
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 8 (7 + 1 Special) | 10 September 1989 (1989-09-10) | 27 December 1989 (1989-12-27) | |
| 2 | 10 (8 + 2 Specials) | 2 September 1990 (1990-09-02) | 1 January 1991 (1991-01-01) | |
| 3 | 10 (8 + 2 Specials) | 20 June 1991 (1991-06-20) | 1 January 1992 (1992-01-01) | |
| 4 | 9 (8 + 1 Special) | 6 September 1992 (1992-09-06) | 31 October 1992 (1992-10-31) | |
| 5 | 8 | 5 September 1993 (1993-09-05) | 24 October 1993 (1993-10-24) | |
| 6 | 7 (6 + 1 Special) | 6 February 1994 (1994-02-06) | 16 October 1994 (1994-10-16) | |
| 7 | 8 (8 Specials) | 20 January 1995 (1995-01-20) | 15 February 1998 (1998-02-15) | |
04Episodes
Series 1 (1989)
Series 2 (1990, 1991)
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "News Hounds" | Les Blair | Les Blair | 2 September 1990 (1990-09-02) | |
| Starring Adrian Edmondson, Alison Steadman, Steven Mackintosh, Edwina Currie, Paul Kember and Nigel Pegram | |||||
| 2 | "Frankenstein's Baby" | Robert Bierman | Emma Tennant | 9 September 1990 (1990-09-09) | |
| Starring Nigel Planer, Kate Buffery and Elizabeth Carling | |||||
| 3 | "The Police" | Ian Knox | Arthur Ellis | 16 September 1990 (1990-09-16) | |
| Starring Oliver Ford Davies, Derek Martin, Arbel Jones and Paul Collins | |||||
| 4 | "Sweet Nothing" | Tony Smith | Vincent O'Connell | 23 September 1990 (1990-09-23) | |
| Starring Lee Ross, Charlotte Coleman, Simon Cadell, Victor Maddern and Michael Melia | |||||
| 5 | "Can You Hear Me Thinking?" | Christopher Morahan | Monty Haltrecht & Beverley Marcus | 30 September 1990 (1990-09-30) | |
|
Starring Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Richard Henders, Charmian May, Pik-Sen Lim, Cyril Shaps, Sally Bretton and Christopher Burgess
| |||||
| 6 | "One Last Chance" | Gabrielle Beaumont | Andrew Kazamia | 7 October 1990 (1990-10-07) | |
| Starring Marina Sirtis, Bernard Spear and Eileen Way | |||||
| 7 | "Sticky Wickets" | Dewi Humphreys | Fletcher Watkins | 14 October 1990 (1990-10-14) | |
| Starring Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Gillian Elisa, George Sewell and William Thomas | |||||
| 8 | "Survival of the Fittest" | Martyn Friend | Julian Mitchell | 21 October 1990 (1990-10-21) | |
| Starring Timothy West, Jean Anderson, Nerys Hughes and Elizabeth Spriggs | |||||
| 9 | "Dark City" | Chris Curling | David Lan | 11 December 1990 (1990-12-11) | |
|
Special. Starring Sello Maake Ka-Ncube, Vusi Dibakwane and Thapelo Mafokeng | |||||
| 10 | "Happy Feet" | Michael Bradwell | Michael Bradwell | 1 January 1991 (1991-01-01) | |
|
Special. Starring Phyllis Logan, Jim Broadbent, Derrick O'Connor and Chris Jury | |||||
Series 3 (1991, 1992)
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Skulduggery" | Phil Davis | Phil Davis | 20 June 1991 (1991-06-20) | |
|
Special. Starring David Thewlis, Robin Weaver, Patsy Palmer, Charlie Creed-Miles, Jake Wood and Robert Pugh | |||||
| 2 | "Hancock" | Tony Smith | William Humble | 1 September 1991 (1991-09-01) | |
| Starring Alfred Molina, Frances Barber, Clive Russell, Paul Brooke, Kenneth Gilbert and Nick Burnell | |||||
| 3 | "Tell Me That You Love Me" | Bruce MacDonald | Adrian Hodges | 8 September 1991 (1991-09-08) | |
| Starring Judith Scott, Sean Bean, James Wilby, Michael Cochrane and Barbara Ward | |||||
| 4 | "Filipina Dreamgirls" | Les Blair | Andrew Davies | 15 September 1991 (1991-09-15) | |
| Starring Bill Maynard, Charlie Drake, David Thewlis, Geoffrey Hutchings and Lee Cornes | |||||
| 5 | "Dancin' Thru the Dark" | Mike Ockrent | Willy Russell | 22 September 1991 (1991-09-22) | |
|
Linda is out on her hen night, while her fiance is out on his stag night. Linda is having major doubts about getting married. When both groups arrive at a club, they find the band fronted by her ex-boyfriend, and the love of her life, Peter. Linda has to decide: does she stay and settle down, like her friends want her to, or does she chuck it all in and run away with Peter? Starring Claire Hackett, Con O'Neill, Julia Deakin, Simon O'Brien and Mark Womack
| |||||
| 6 | "Ex" | Paul Seed | William Humble | 29 September 1991 (1991-09-29) | |
| Starring Griff Rhys Jones, Geraldine James, Penny Downie, Dermot Crowley, Mary Jo Randle, Bruce Montague and Colin Douglas | |||||
| 7 | "Prince" | David Wheatley | Julie Burchill | 6 October 1991 (1991-10-06) | |
| Starring Sean Bean, Janet McTeer, Celia Montague and Jackie McGuire | |||||
| 8 | "Alive and Kicking" | Robert Young | Al Hunter Ashton | 13 October 1991 (1991-10-13) | |
|
Stevie "Smudger" Smith is a heroin dealer and an addict. His wife Marie is also an addict, and when their baby, Jason, is born he is addicted too. When Jason is taken into care, Marie leaves Smudger to get clean and win Jason back, with the help of unorthodox drug counsellor Liam Kane. Stevie and Liam are soon at loggerheads as Stevie wants his wife and son back, but realises he can only do this if he also gets clean. In trouble with his old gang and his rivals, he does so, but has no interest in the conventional rehabilitation on offer. He decides to form a football team of recovering addicts, helped by his old coach, Earl. Starring Lenny Henry, Robbie Coltrane, Jane Horrocks, Paul Barber, Annabelle Apsion, Imogen Boorman, Geff Francis, Jillie Meers and Sakuntala Ramanee | |||||
| 9 | "A Question of Attribution" | John Schlesinger | Alan Bennett | 20 October 1991 (1991-10-20) | |
|
Starring James Fox, Prunella Scales, Geoffrey Palmer, David Calder, John Cater and Edward de Souza
| |||||
| 10 | "Adam Bede" | Giles Foster | Maggie Wadey | 1 January 1992 (1992-01-01) | |
|
Special. Starring Patsy Kensit, Julia McKenzie, Jean Marsh, Freddie Jones, Paul Brooke, Patsy Byrne, Roy Evans, Edward Jewesbury and Michael Robbins
| |||||
Series 4 (1992)
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Very Polish Practice" | David Tucker | Andrew Davies | 6 September 1992 (1992-09-06) | |
|
Starring Peter Davison, David Troughton, Joanna Kanska, Alfred Molina and Gertan Klauber
| |||||
| 2 | "Disaster at Valdez" | Paul Seed | Michael Baker | 13 September 1992 (1992-09-13) | |
| Starring Christopher Lloyd, John Heard, Rip Torn, Michael Murphy and Paul Guilfoyle | |||||
| 3 | "Born Kicking" | Mandie Fletcher | Barry Hines | 20 September 1992 (1992-09-20) | |
| Starring John Abineri, Nicholas Courtney, Norman Bird, Thomas Craig, George Irving, Terry Wogan, David McAlister, Sheila Ruskin, Garfield Morgan, Norman Mitchell and Martin Cochrane | |||||
| 4 | "Black and Blue" | David Hayman | G. F. Newman | 27 September 1992 (1992-09-27) | |
| Starring Linus Roache, Martin Shaw, Iain Glen, Ray Winstone, David Morrissey, Don Henderson, David Thewlis, Madhav Sharma and Colin McFarlane | |||||
| 5 | "Seconds Out" | Bruce MacDonald | Lynda La Plante | 4 October 1992 (1992-10-04) | |
| Starring Steven Waddington, Tom Bell, Derek Newark, Jack Watson, Nick Brimble, Frank Mills, Thomas Craig, Tim Barlow, Eric Mason and Roy Heather | |||||
| 6 | "Running Late" | Udayan Prasad | Simon Gray | 11 October 1992 (1992-10-11) | |
| Starring Peter Bowles, Michael Byrne, James Fleet, Jim McManus, Ian McNeice and Roshan Seth | |||||
| 7 | "Losing Track" | Jim Lee | Roger Eldridge | 18 October 1992 (1992-10-18) | |
| Starring Alan Bates, Geraldine James and Michael Culver | |||||
| 8 | "Trust Me" | Tony Dow | Tony Sarchet | 25 October 1992 (1992-10-25) | |
| Starring Alfred Molina, Hywel Bennett, Jill Gascoine, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Edna Doré, Harry Towb, Derek Benfield and David Simeon | |||||
| 9 | "Ghostwatch" | Lesley Manning | Stephen Volk | 31 October 1992 (1992-10-31) | |
|
Special. Starring Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Mike Smith and Craig Charles
| |||||
Series 5 (1993)
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Wide-Eyed and Legless" | Richard Loncraine | Deric Longden & Jack Rosenthal | 5 September 1993 (1993-09-05) | |
|
Starring Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Thora Hird and Moya Brady
| |||||
| 2 | "A Foreign Field" | Charles Sturridge | Roy Clarke | 12 September 1993 (1993-09-12) | |
|
Starring Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Geraldine Chaplin, Lauren Bacall, Jeanne Moreau and Dorothy Grumbar
| |||||
| 3 | "Down Among the Big Boys" | Charles Gormley | Peter McDougall | 19 September 1993 (1993-09-19) | |
|
Louie, the Glasgow detective son of a policeman, is about to marry the daughter of the accomplished robbery chief JoJo. Louie is placed in charge of investigating a mystery thief before his wedding. Jojo comes to realize that Louie is looking for him and wrestles with how to handle this. Starring Douglas Henshall, Billy Connolly, John Murtagh, Ewan Stewart, Maggie Bell and Ashley Jensen
| |||||
| 4 | "Royal Celebration" | Ferdinand Fairfax | William Humble | 26 September 1993 (1993-09-26) | |
| Starring Kenneth Cranham, Minnie Driver, Rupert Graves, Leslie Phillips, Keira Knightley and Gordon Salkilld. This was Knightley's first screen appearance. | |||||
| 5 | "Tender Loving Care" | Dewi Humphreys | Lucy Gannon | 3 October 1993 (1993-10-03) | |
| Starring Dawn French, Rosemary Leach, Joan Sims, Peter Jones and Llewellyn Rees | |||||
| 6 | "Money for Nothing" | Mike Ockrent | Tim Firth | 10 October 1993 (1993-10-10) | |
| Starring Julian Glover, Martin Short, Christien Anholt, Paul Reynolds, Tim Preece, Wolf Kahler and Sean Baker | |||||
| 7 | "Wall of Silence" | Philip Saville | Maurice Gran & Laurence Marks | 17 October 1993 (1993-10-17) | |
| Starring Bill Paterson, Warren Mitchell, Timothy Busfield, John Bowe and Brigitte Kahn | |||||
| 8 | "The Bullion Boys" | Christopher Morahan | Jim Hitchmough | 24 October 1993 (1993-10-24) | |
|
The true story of how Britain's gold reserve was secretly transferred to Liverpool at the start of the Second World War. Starring David Jason, Tim Pigott-Smith, Gorden Kaye, Brenda Blethyn, Geoffrey Hutchings and Paul Angelis
| |||||
Series 6 (1994)
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Bambino Mio" | Edward Bennett | Colin Welland | 6 February 1994 (1994-02-06) | |
|
Special. Starring Julie Walters, Georges Corraface, John McArdle and Orlando Urdaneta
| |||||
| 2 | "A Breed of Heroes" | Diarmuid Lawrence | Charles Wood | 4 September 1994 (1994-09-04) | |
| Starring Samuel West, Robert Bathurst, Alexander Armstrong, Daniel Flynn, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Jonathan Firth, Richard Griffiths and Shaun Dingwall | |||||
| 3 | "Pat and Margaret" | Gavin Millar | Victoria Wood | 11 September 1994 (1994-09-11) | |
|
Starring Victoria Wood, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Don Henderson, Duncan Preston, Thora Hird, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Shirley Stelfox, Roger Brierley, Tenniel Evans and Charles Pemberton
| |||||
| 4 | "Two Golden Balls" | Anya Camilleri | Maureen Chadwick | 18 September 1994 (1994-09-18) | |
| Starring Kim Cattrall, Claire Skinner, Christopher Ellison, Rowena King and Leslie Phillips | |||||
| 5 | "Meat" | John Madden | Daniel Boyle | 25 September 1994 (1994-09-25) | |
| Starring Jonny Lee Miller, Sarah-Jane Potts, Peter Wight and John Simm | |||||
| 6 | "Murder in Mind" | Robert Bierman | Jenny Diski | 2 October 1994 (1994-10-02) | |
| Starring Cathryn Harrison, Trevor Eve, Anna Massey, Steven Mackintosh, Bruce Alexander and Christopher Owen | |||||
| 7 | "Doggin' Around" | Desmond Davis | Alan Plater | 16 October 1994 (1994-10-16) | |
| Starring Elliott Gould, Geraldine James, Alun Armstrong, Ewan McGregor, Liz Smith, Ronnie Scott, Stephen Marcus, Jamie Foreman, Larry Lamb, Judy Flynn and Tony Caunter | |||||
Specials (1995-1998)
| No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Plant" | Jonathan Lewis | Jonathan Lewis | 20 January 1995 (1995-01-20) | |
| Starring Joanna Roth, Valentine Pelka, Eoin McCarthy, Sally Dexter and Ian Burfield | |||||
| 2 | "Trip Trap" | Danny Hiller | Lucy Gannon | 9 March 1996 (1996-03-09) | |
| Starring Kevin Whately, Stella Gonet, Sue Roderick and Helen Griffin | |||||
| 3 | "Killing Me Softly" | Stephen Whittaker | Rebecca Frayn | 7 July 1996 (1996-07-07) | |
| Starring Maggie O'Neill, Peter Howitt, Julian Kerridge and Annabelle Apsion | |||||
| 4 | "Truth or Dare" | John Madden | Unknown | 31 August 1996 (1996-08-31) | |
| Starring John Hannah, Helen Baxendale, Susan Lynch, Ben Daniels, John Fraser and John Michie | |||||
| 5 | "Gobble" | Jimmy Mulville | Ian Hislop & Nick Newman | 15 February 1997 (1997-02-15) | |
| Starring Kevin Whately, Keith Barron, Jack Dee and Peter Egan | |||||
| 6 | "Deacon Brodie" | Philip Saville | Simon Donald | 8 March 1997 (1997-03-08) | |
| Starring Billy Connolly, Patrick Malahide, Catherine McCormack, Lorcan Cranitch and Siobhan Redmond | |||||
| 7 | "Hostile Waters" | David Drury | Troy Kennedy-Martin | 26 July 1997 (1997-07-26) | |
|
Starring Rutger Hauer, Martin Sheen, Max Von Sydow, Colm Feore and Michael Attwell
| |||||
| 8 | "Our Boy" | David Evans | Tony Grounds | 15 February 1998 (1998-02-15) | |
| Starring Ray Winstone, Pauline Quirke, Neil Dudgeon and Philip Jackson | |||||
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Screen One”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- ScreenOneBBC.jpg by Unknown, Fair use
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