Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,799 playable programmes from the BBC

Results 1 to 20 of 28 for your search filters
Filter by channel

Duration: 1 hour, 23 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC One LondonLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Available for years

Jack Rosenthal-penned comedy drama following three sets of parents as they chaperone their children through the selection process of Cambridge University.

Duration: 1 hour, 22 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Wales HD

Biting Ealing satire about a scientist (Alec Guinness) who invents an indestructible fibre but finds that everyone wants to destroy his formula. Show more

Contributors

Sidney Stratton:
Alec Guinness
Daphne Birnley:
Joan Greenwood
Alan Birnley:
Cecil Parker
Bertha:
Vida Hope
Michael Corland:
Michael Gough
Sir John Kierlaw:
Ernest Thesiger
Producer:
Sidney Cole

Formats

Duration: 1 hour, 53 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two Wales HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Musical adaptation of Dickens's classic story, A Christmas Carol. It's Christmas Eve, but the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge dismisses the festivities around him. Show more

Contributors

Director:
Ronald Neame
Ebenezer Scrooge:
Albert Finney
Jacob Marley's Ghost:
Alec Guinness
Ghost of Christmas Past:
Edith Evans
Ghost of Christmas Present:
Kenneth More

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Seminal spy drama series from 1982. Vladimir has two proofs, but Smiley has only found one. It was an erotic photograph of Otto Leipzig, the General's lieutenant. Show more

Contributors

George Smiley:
Alec Guinness
Toby Esterhase:
Bernard Hepton
Madame Ostrakova:
Eileen Atkins
Connie Sachs:
Beryl Reid
Hilary:
Norma West
Mr Carson:
Vass Anderson
Director:
Simon Langton

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Seminal spy drama series from 1982. Smiley gets into trouble with his superiors, who want the investigation closed. But he finally encounters the woman and gets her account.

Contributors

George Smiley:
Alec Guinness
Claus Kretzschmar:
Mario Adorf
Madame Ostrakova:
Eileen Atkins
Otto Leipzig:
Vladek Sheybal
Peter Guillam:
Michael Byrne
Saul Enderby:
Barry Foster
Director:
Simon Langton

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Series 1

Return to the Circus

Duration: 50 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. When summoned by the cabinet watchdog for intelligence affairs, Smiley agrees to head the hunt for a secret service mole. Show more

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Series 1

Tarr Tells His Story

Duration: 50 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. Smiley is forced to go back over some very old ground when he is told a story about spies.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Series 1

Smiley Tracks the Mole

Duration: 50 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. In his search for the mole sitting at the heart of the Circus, Smiley sets out for Oxford to visit an invaluable friend.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Series 1

How It All Fits Together

Duration: 40 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. Smiley remembers Karla, the legendary head of Moscow Circus. Show more

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Series 1

Tinker Tailor

Duration: 50 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. Smiley thinks that the time has come to call on Jim Prideaux, whose assignment to Czechoslovakia went wrong. Show more

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Series 1

Smiley Sets a Trap

Duration: 40 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. Smiley's investigation to snare the traitor at the heart of the Circus leads him to a Fleet Street journalist. Show more

Contributors

George Smiley:
Alec Guinness
Jim Prideaux:
Ian Bannen
Jerry Westerby:
Joss Ackland
Toby Esterhase:
Bernard Hepton
Peter Guillam:
Michael Jayston
Sir Oliver Lacon:
Anthony Bate
Ricki Tarr:
Hywel Bennett

Duration: 2 hours, 15 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Historical drama set before and during the English Civil War in the 17th century. Charles I and Oliver Cromwell first clash in Parliament before taking to the battlefield. Show more

Contributors

Oliver Cromwell:
Richard Harris
King Charles I:
Alec Guinness
Earl of Manchester:
Robert Morley
Queen Henrietta Maria:
Dorothy Tutin
John Carter:
Frank Finlay
Prince Rupert:
Timothy Dalton
The Earl of Strafford:
Patrick Wymark
Hugh Peters:
Patrick Magee
Sir Edward Hyde:
Nigel Stock
The Earl of Essex:
Charles Gray
Director:
Ken Hughes
Producer:
Irving Allen
Writer:
Ken Hughes

Duration: 1 hour, 53 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two ScotlandLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Available for 10 months

Vivid adaptation of the Dickens classic about a poor young orphan who becomes a gentleman of means thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Show more

Contributors

Joe Gargery:
Bernard Miles
Miss Havisham:
Martita Hunt
Abel Magwitch:
Finlay Currie
Young Pip:
Anthony Wager
Estella as a child:
Jean Simmons
Herbert Pocket:
Alec Guinness
Writer:
David Lean
Director:
David Lean
Producer:
Ronald Neame

Genres

Formats

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Seminal 1980s spy drama series. The final confrontation between Smiley and Karla takes place. But in this game there are no victors, only losers.

Contributors

George Smiley:
Alec Guinness
Anton Grigoriev:
Michael Lonsdale
Toby Esterhase:
Bernard Hepton
Lauder Strickland:
Bill Paterson
Peter Guillam:
Michael Byrne
Mother Felicity:
Rosalie Crutchley
Director:
Simon Langton

Duration: 1 hour, 45 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

The classic British black comedy about a rich cad who murders eight relatives - all played by Alec Guinness - to inherit a dukedom. Show more

Contributors

the D'Ascoyne family:
Alec Guinness
Louis Mazzini:
Dennis Price
Edith D'Ascoyne:
Valerie Hobson
Sibella Holland:
Joan Greenwood
Mama Mazzini:
Audrey Fildes
The Hangman:
Miles Malleson
Lionel Holland:
John Penrose
The Prison Governor Colonel:
Clive Morton
Director:
Robert Hamer
Producer:
Michael Relph

Genres

Formats

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Seminal spy drama series from 1982. Two seemingly unconnected events summon master spy George Smiley from retirement. Show more

Contributors

George Smiley:
Alec Guinness
The General:
Curd Jurgens
Detective Chief Superintendent:
Michael Elphick
Madame Ostrakova:
Eileen Atkins
Oleg Kirov:
Dudley Sutton
Otto Leipzig:
Vladek Sheybal
Lauder Strickland:
Bill Paterson
Oliver Lacon:
Anthony Bate
Villem Craven:
Paul Herzberg
Nigel Mostyn:
Stephen Riddle
Murgotroyd:
Harry Walker
Sergeant Pike:
Trevor Cooper
Attache Kuznetsov:
Renny Krupinski
Director:
Simon Langton

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Seminal spy drama series from 1982. Lacon's instructions to Smiley are specific, but Vladimir had two proofs and was bringing them with him. Show more

Contributors

George Smiley:
Alec Guinness
The General:
Curd Jurgens
Madame Ostrakova:
Eileen Atkins
Otto Leipzig:
Vladek Sheybal
Oliver Lacon:
Anthony Bate
Villem Craven:
Paul Herzberg
Mr Brownlow:
Alan Rickman
Director:
Simon Langton

Duration: 29 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two ScotlandLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Compilation of the best bits of Morecambe and Wise. Eric and Ernie keep an appointment with psychiatrist Sir Alec Guinness and encounter trouble on the stairs with Penelope Keith. Show more

Duration: 1 hour, 55 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two EnglandLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Wales

Cold War adventure starring Richard Jordan. The Americans and Russians compete to salvage the wreck of the Titanic, believing it to hold the only supply of vital nuclear material. Show more

Contributors

Dirk Pitt:
Richard Jordan
John Bigalow:
Alec Guinness
Adm. James Sandecker:
Jason Robards
Dr Gene Seagram:
David Selby
Dana Archibald:
Anne Archer
Director:
Jerry Jameson

Genres

Formats

Duration: 3 hours, 3 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two Wales HDLatest broadcast: on BBC Four

Oscar-winning epic. A doctor and poet falls in love with the mistress of a political opportunist, but their romance is disrupted by the social upheaval surrounding them. Show more