David Dawson

London, 1886. Unbeknown to his loyal wife Winnie, Soho shopkeeper Verloc works as a secret agent for the Russian government. Angry that Britain harbours violent anarchists, the Russians coerce Verloc into planting a bomb that will provoke the authorities into cracking down on these extremists. Caught between the Russians and the British police, Verloc reluctantly draws his own family into a tragic terror plot.

5.9/10

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death, Shakespeare's Globe has assembled an all-star cast to make 37 short films – one for each play – and here's the twist: each lavish 10 minute vignette is made on location in the real setting of each plot. The films have been directed by a selection of young directors and blend existing Shakespeare's Globe footage with new material shot in locations that capture the breadth of the Bard's imagination, including the Pyramids of Dahshur in Egypt, the rocks of Elsinore, Denmark, and the historic Jewish Ghetto of Venice, Italy. “Love's Labour's Lost”, which starred Gemma Arterton as Rosaline, was filmed at the Royal Palace of Olite, Navarre, Spain.

A show of heroic deeds and epic battles with a thematic depth that embraces politics, religion, warfare, courage, love, loyalty and our universal search for identity. Combining real historical figures and events with fictional characters, it is the story of how a people combined their strength under one of the most iconic kings of history in order to reclaim their land for themselves and build a place they call home.

8.4/10
9.1%

At its heart, Banished is a story of survival. Though it is set in the stark historical reality of the founding of the penal colony in Australia in 1788 after the arrival of the First Fleet, it is not the story of Australia and how it came to be. Rather, it is a tale of love, faith, justice and morality played out on an epic scale in a confined community where the stakes are literally life and death.

7.4/10

Filmed as live stage production of Webster's Jacobean tragedy. The widowed Duchess of Malfi longs to marry her lover, the steward Antonio. But her rancorous brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, are implacably opposed to the match. When their spy, Bosola, discovers that the Duchess has secretly married and carries Antonio’s child, they exact a terrible and horrific revenge.

7.5/10

A drama set in the East End of London in 1889, during the aftermath of the "Ripper" murders. The action centres around the notorious H Division – the police precinct from hell – which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets of Whitechapel. Ripper Street explores the lives of characters trying to recover from the Ripper's legacy, from crimes that have not only irretrievably altered their lives, but the very fabric of their city. At the drama's heart our detectives try to bring a little light into the dark world they inhabit.

8.1/10
9.4%

The story of how 22 year old writer Tony Warren conceived, wrote and fought for the record breaking UK TV series Coronation Street.

7.9/10

In 1939 Gracie Fields, the 'Queen of Hearts', is at the height of her success as a singer and actress and the whole nation seems to wish her a speedy recovery from cervical cancer. When World War Two breaks out, Gracie sings for the troops despite poor health, to the dismay of her fussy husband, film director Monty Banks, an Italian, born Mario Bianchi. With Italy's entry into the war Monty is in danger of being interned so Gracie consents to his moving to America whilst she tours Canada, fund-raising for the war effort. She is accused of deserting the country which made her famous and booed offstage, though she later tours battlefields as a singer. With the war over she regains popularity, performing 'Take Me To Your Heart Again' at the London Palladium. Banks dies in 1950 and, though still a successful singer, Gracie never regains her pre-war iconic status.

7/10

With Hugh in Australia and Glenn in Wales, Ollie is left in charge, feeding policies to junior minister Ben Swain. He is one of the 'Nutters', the group keen to take power when the P.M. resigns and keen to make a name for himself - which he does in the wrong sense when Jeremy Paxman skewers him on 'Newsnight'. This is music to Tucker's ears as it is in his interest for the P.M. to remain in power for as long as he can. Ollie's new girlfriend Emma is working for Shadow Minister Peter Mannion and hopes to impress by stealing one of Ollie's idea for use on their immigration policy though things do not go fully to plan.

8.6/10

The Experiment was a documentary series broadcast on BBC television in 2002 produced by Steve Reicher and Alex Haslam in which 15 men are randomly selected to be either "prisoner" or guard, contained in a simulated prison over an eight-day period. “The BBC Prison Study explores the social and psychological consequences of putting people in groups of unequal power. It examines when people accept inequality and when they challenge it”. The documentary presented the findings of what subsequently became known as The BBC Prison Study

Set in affluent, contemporary, south-side Dublin, the Cahills appear to have the world at their feet. Dad Aidan, is a successful property tycoon, his wife Michelle, a successful estate agent and their fashion model daughter, Emma's 21st birthday party at the family home should be a night to remember. That night however, a rape at the party shatters their seemingly perfect lives. With the key suspect released on bail, and dark family secrets coming to the fore, Emma's life begins to free-fall. Slowly, having made radical changes to her life, Emma builds towards recovery - until a chance meeting with her rapist bolsters her conviction that she'll need to confront him in court before she can get on with her life.

4.4/10
7.8%

An extended family and four young people are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music, which exploded from the grass roots of Coventry and Birmingham in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, uniting black, white and Asian youths.

6.7/10