{"id":1968165,"date":"2025-08-19T07:30:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T07:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1968165"},"modified":"2025-08-19T07:30:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T07:30:09","slug":"the-best-of-play-for-today-from-the-seminal-to-forgotten-gems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-best-of-play-for-today-from-the-seminal-to-forgotten-gems\/","title":{"rendered":"The best of Play for Today \u2013 from the seminal to forgotten gems"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At a time when it seems as if original one-off drama on British television is all but dead<\/a>, three cheers to Channel 5<\/a> for having the vision and courage to resurrect the Play for Today strand. Between 1970 and 1984, the BBC produced more than 300 individual television plays, which ranged from adaptations of high-profile plays and novels to original, authored dramas by writers of the calibre of Dennis Potter, Alan Clarke, Mike Leigh and many more. (Men, inevitably, dominated the commissioning structure: it was of its time.)<\/p>\n

Now, Channel 5 have announced four new individual films that will feature leading actors including Nigel Havers, Alan Davies, Sue Johnston, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Tracy-Ann Oberman, who will appear in work from hitherto little-known or first-time writers and directors. All of them will air on the channel later this year.<\/p>\n

The resurrection of the Play for Today strand is a welcome reminder just how many consequential and important films were made. So which can you watch, and which are worth watching? Here\u2019s 10 of the best.<\/p>\n

The Hallelujah Handshake (1970)<\/h2>\n
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