Entertainment The Best BBC Television TV Shows

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List of popular BBC Television shows, ranked from best to worst. This list of the top current and cancelled BBC Television TV series includes the date when each show first aired, as well as which actors starred in the show. The best BBC Television TV programs of all time include the most viewed shows on BBC Television, as this list covers the entire history of the network. This list is sorted by popularity, so the shows with the most votes are at the top of the list.

This list below has a variety of shows in it, from Smiley's People to Beau Geste.

Although television fans in different locations grew up with BBC Television on different channels, most of us got the same shows, so don't let your favorite BBC Television TV shows sink to the bottom of the list! The list of top BBC Television television shown below includes cast, creator, and premiere date when available. This list contains only TV series on the BBC Television network, even ones that are no longer on the air.

Use this factual list to build a whole new one just like it, then re-rank it to fit your opinion.

list ordered by

1
172 46

Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs
Sherlock is a British television crime drama that presents a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it ...more

2
214 82

Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith
Doctor Who (BBC, 2005) is a British science-fiction television show created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer ...more

3
88 37

Broadchurch David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker
Broadchurch is a British television drama broadcast on ITV. It was created and written by Chris Chibnall and produced by Kudos Film and Television, Shine America, and Imaginary Friends. The ...more

4
108 51

bigcraig added Luther Idris Elba, Warren Brown, Dermot Crowley
Luther is a British drama series starring Idris Elba as the eponymous character DCI John Luther. Written by Neil Cross, the first series, comprising six one-hour long episodes, premiered on 4 ...more

5
100 48

TracyLemaster added Faulty Towers

6
117 66

peter.glover1 added Merlin John Hurt, Colin Morgan, Bradley James
Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme, created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps and starring Colin Morgan in the title role. It was broadcast on ...more

7
46 15

Monty Python's Flying Circus Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a British sketch comedy series commissioned by David Attenborough, created by the comedy group Monty Python and broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974. The shows ...more

8
58 29

BenNicholson added Blackadder Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray
Blackadder is the name that encompasses four series of a BBC 1 period British sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero ...more

9
48 22

The Fall Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch
The Fall is a BBC drama television series set in Northern Ireland and created, written and, in its second series, directed by Allan Cubitt. The series stars Gillian Anderson as Superintendent ...more

10
30 10

Line of Duty Keeley Hawes, Lennie James, Martin Compston
Line of Duty is a British police drama, created by Jed Mercurio, which aired on BBC Two 26 June 2012. The first series was BBC Two's best-performing drama series in 10 years, with a consolidated ...more

11
45 24

Agatha Christie's Poirot David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet stars as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional ...more

12
34 15

The Office Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook
The Office is a mockumentary that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is ...more

13
74 50

peter.glover1 added Top Gear Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, James May
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars, and is the most widely watched factual television programme in the world. It began in 1977 as a conventional ...more

14
27 11

Blackadder Goes Forth Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry
Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One. The ...more

15
36 19

Red Dwarf Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises ten series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1993 and from 1997 to 1999, and on Dave ...more

16
28 12

Yes, Prime Minister Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds
Yes, Prime Minister is a comedy drama tv show that aired on BBC TWO from January 1986 to January 1988.

17
37 20

Father Brown
Father Brown is a British television period drama which began airing on BBC One on 14 January 2013. It features Mark Williams as the eponymous crime-solving Roman Catholic priest. The series is ...more

18
70 50

HenriqueCésarMadeira added Torchwood John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off from the 2005 revival of long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who, Torchwood aired ...more

19
48 31

peter.glover1 added Death in Paradise Kris Marshall, Danny John-Jules, Ben Miller
This film is a British-French lighthearted drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, initially starring Ben Miller and Sara Martins, and later starring Kris Marshall and ...more

20
29 14

Prime Suspect Helen Mirren, Zoë Wanamaker, Tom Bell
Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television drama series starring Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in ...more

21
35 20

Midsomer Murders Suzi Quatro, John Nettles, Neil Dudgeon
This is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on Caroline Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, as originally adapted by Anthony ...more

22
20 7

Blackadder II Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny
Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during ...more

23
26 14

Mr. Bean Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, Matilda Ziegler
Mr. Bean is an animated television series by Varga Studio based on the British live-action series of the same name. Characters from the original live action series included Mr. Bean, Irma Gobb, ...more

24
32 20

bigcraig added Being Human Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, Sam Huntington
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse for broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror ...more

25
38 26

peter.glover1 added Spooks Richard Armitage, David Oyelowo, Lara Pulver
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 to 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the ...more

1 172 46 Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs Sherlock is a British television crime drama that presents a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it ...more

2 214 82 Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith Doctor Who (BBC, 2005) is a British science-fiction television show created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson. The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer ...more

3 88 37 Broadchurch David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker Broadchurch is a British television drama broadcast on ITV. It was created and written by Chris Chibnall and produced by Kudos Film and Television, Shine America, and Imaginary Friends. The ...more

4 108 51 bigcraig added Luther Idris Elba, Warren Brown, Dermot Crowley Luther is a British drama series starring Idris Elba as the eponymous character DCI John Luther. Written by Neil Cross, the first series, comprising six one-hour long episodes, premiered on 4 ...more

5 100 48 TracyLemaster added Faulty Towers

6 117 66 peter.glover1 added Merlin John Hurt, Colin Morgan, Bradley James Merlin is a British fantasy-adventure television programme, created by Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps and starring Colin Morgan in the title role. It was broadcast on ...more

7 46 15 Monty Python's Flying Circus Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a British sketch comedy series commissioned by David Attenborough, created by the comedy group Monty Python and broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974. The shows ...more

8 58 29 BenNicholson added Blackadder Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray Blackadder is the name that encompasses four series of a BBC 1 period British sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero ...more

9 48 22 The Fall Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch The Fall is a BBC drama television series set in Northern Ireland and created, written and, in its second series, directed by Allan Cubitt. The series stars Gillian Anderson as Superintendent ...more

10 30 10 Line of Duty Keeley Hawes, Lennie James, Martin Compston Line of Duty is a British police drama, created by Jed Mercurio, which aired on BBC Two 26 June 2012. The first series was BBC Two's best-performing drama series in 10 years, with a consolidated ...more

11 45 24 Agatha Christie's Poirot David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet stars as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional ...more

12 34 15 The Office Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook The Office is a mockumentary that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is ...more

13 74 50 peter.glover1 added Top Gear Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, James May Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars, and is the most widely watched factual television programme in the world. It began in 1977 as a conventional ...more

14 27 11 Blackadder Goes Forth Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One. The ...more

15 36 19 Red Dwarf Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises ten series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1993 and from 1997 to 1999, and on Dave ...more

16 28 12 Yes, Prime Minister Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds Yes, Prime Minister is a comedy drama tv show that aired on BBC TWO from January 1986 to January 1988.

17 37 20 Father Brown Father Brown is a British television period drama which began airing on BBC One on 14 January 2013. It features Mark Williams as the eponymous crime-solving Roman Catholic priest. The series is ...more

18 70 50 HenriqueCésarMadeira added Torchwood John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Kai Owen Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off from the 2005 revival of long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who, Torchwood aired ...more

19 48 31 peter.glover1 added Death in Paradise Kris Marshall, Danny John-Jules, Ben Miller This film is a British-French lighthearted drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, initially starring Ben Miller and Sara Martins, and later starring Kris Marshall and ...more

20 29 14 Prime Suspect Helen Mirren, Zoë Wanamaker, Tom Bell Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television drama series starring Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in ...more

21 35 20 Midsomer Murders Suzi Quatro, John Nettles, Neil Dudgeon This is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on Caroline Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, as originally adapted by Anthony ...more

22 20 7 Blackadder II Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during ...more

23 26 14 Mr. Bean Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, Matilda Ziegler Mr. Bean is an animated television series by Varga Studio based on the British live-action series of the same name. Characters from the original live action series included Mr. Bean, Irma Gobb, ...more

24 32 20 bigcraig added Being Human Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, Sam Huntington Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse for broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror ...more

25 38 26 peter.glover1 added Spooks Richard Armitage, David Oyelowo, Lara Pulver Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 to 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, and the ...more

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