# ScreenPlay

ScreenPlay is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.

## Background

After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, feature length filmed dramas, including ScreenPlay. Various writers and directors were utilized on the series. Writer Jimmy McGovern was hired by producer George Faber to pen a series five episode based upon the Merseyside needle exchange programme of the 1980s. The episode, directed by Gillies MacKinnon, was entitled Needle and featured Sean McKee, Emma Bird, and Pete Postlethwaite. The last episode of the series was titled "Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Islands" and featured Robbie Coltrane as English writer Samuel Johnson, who in the autumn of 1773, visits the Hebrides off the north-west coast of Scotland. That episode was directed by John Byrne and co-starred John Sessions and Celia Imrie. Some scenes were shot at Lennoxlove House in East Lothian and others in the Scottish Borders.

## Plays

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 13 | 13 | 9 July 1986 (1986-07-09) | 2 October 1986 (1986-10-02) |
| 2 | 13 | 13 | 15 July 1987 (1987-07-15) | 7 October 1987 (1987-10-07) |
| 3 | 10 | 10 | 13 July 1988 (1988-07-13) | 28 September 1988 (1988-09-28) |
| 4 | 11 | 11 | 5 July 1989 (1989-07-05) | 20 September 1989 (1989-09-20) |
| 5 | 13 | 13 | 11 July 1990 (1990-07-11) | 29 December 1990 (1990-12-29) |
| 6 | 15 | 15 | 3 July 1991 (1991-07-03) | 18 September 1991 (1991-09-18) |
| 7 | 14 | 14 | 1 July 1992 (1992-07-01) | 30 September 1992 (1992-09-30) |
| 8 | 6 | 6 | 22 September 1993 (1993-09-22) | 27 October 1993 (1993-10-27) |

### Series 1 (1986)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "All Together Now" | David Attwood | Peter Buckman | Robin Midgley | 9 July 1986 (1986-07-09) |
| Cast : Colin Farrell, Colin Blumenau, Jerome Davies, Bryan James, Terry Molloy, Colyn Davies, Nick Mercer, Jacqueline Hill, Audrey Leybourne, Lynda Myers, Michael Griffiths, Chrissy Roberts, Alan Starkey, Keith Mansell, Patrick Wilkes and Clive Swift |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Daylight Robbery" | Chris Goddard | Rose Tremain | Brenda Reid | 16 July 1986 (1986-07-16) |
| Cast : Joan Hickson, Lynn Farleigh, Michael N. Harbour, Denys Hawthorne, Matthew Long, Gay Baynes, Ed Devereaux, Robert Lang, Tony Meyer, Annie Gurney, Alexander Goodman, David McEwan and David Telfer |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Brick Is Beautiful" | David Wheatley | Andy Armitage | Brenda Reid | 23 July 1986 (1986-07-23) |
| Cast : Christopher Wild, Caroline Milmoe, Ian Mercer, Paul Oldham, Terry Sue-Patt, Tommy Boyle, Bert Gaunt, Stephen Boyes, Lottie Ward, Ruth Holden, Wendy Votel, Gilly Coman, Roberta Kerr, Louis Raynes, Anthony Benson, Drew Dawson, Doc O'Brien, Mike Donelan, Joan Campion, Margo Stanley, Ian Bleasdale and John Ryan |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Knowing the Score" | Brian Parker | Alma Cullen | Tom Kinninmont | 30 July 1986 (1986-07-30) |
| Cast : Colette O'Neil, Andrew Keir, Sandra Voe, Katy Hale, Pat Harkins, Anne Myatt, Jan Wilson, Anne Lacey, Martin Heller, Tracey Chapman, Simon Donald, William Armour, Ray Jeffries and Jonathan Battersby |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Drums Along Balmoral Drive" | Jane Howell | Douglas Livingstone | Brenda Reid | 6 August 1986 (1986-08-06) |
| Cast : Colin Blakely, Derek Fuke, Benedict Taylor, Michael Turner, Rowena Cooper, Larrington Walker, Jabu Mbalo, Inez Thorn, Michael Wynne, Anne Carroll, Hugh Quarshie, Eddie Tagoe, Michael Crompton, Femi Taylor, Christopher Asante, Nicholas Grant, Tommy Buson and Thomas Baptiste |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Asinamali" | Ross Devenish | Mbongeni Ngema | David M. Thompson | 13 August 1986 (1986-08-13) |
| Cast : Solomzi Bisholo, Thami Cele, Bongani Hlophe, Bheki Mgadi, Boy Ngema and Mbongeni Ngema |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "In Traction" | David Wickham | Stuart Paterson | Tom Kinninmont | 20 August 1986 (1986-08-20) |
| Cast : James Kennedy, Patrick Hannaway, Joe Mullaney, Leonard O'Malley, Matthew Hodgman, Caroline Paterson, Angie Murphy, John McGlynn, Una MacNab, Andrew Barr, Stuart Bishop, Robert Paterson |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Mozart Inquest" | Anthony Garner | Simon Whitworth | Martin Thompson | 27 August 1986 (1986-08-27) |
| Cast : Elizabeth Garvie, James Griffiths, Clifford Rose, Patrick Stewart, Kate Fahy and Elizabeth Spender |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Marlowe Inquest" | Anthony Garner | Simon Whitworth | Martin Thompson | 3 September 1986 (1986-09-03) |
| Cast : John Woodvine, John Savident, Michael Pennington, Nicholas Gecks, Nicholas Le Prevost, Geoffrey Beevers and Matthew Marsh |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Blood, Sweat and Tears" | Nicholas Renton | John Godber | Brenda Reid | 10 September 1986 (1986-09-10) |
| Cast : Jane Clifford, Gillian Tompkins, Michael Callaghan, Liza Sadovy and Steven Brough |||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Shift Work" | Angela Pope | Lesley Bruce | Brenda Reid | 24 September 1986 (1986-09-24) |
| Cast : Maureen Lipman, Stephen Dillane, Jeffrey Chiswick, Tony Alleff, Amy Rosenthal, Adam Rosenthal, Max Murray-Barrows, Christopher Chescoe, Treva Etienne, Yolanda Vazquez, Eddie Caswell, Prue Clarke, Angus Kennedy, David Bauckham, Richard Platt, Ian Collier, Lockwood West, Robert Austin and Jim Dunk |||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Paying Guests: Early Skirmishes" | Michael Simpson | E. F. Benson (novel) Thomas Ellice | Rosemary Hill | 1 October 1986 (1986-10-01) |
| Cast : Robert Hardy, Angela Thorne, Benjamin Whitrow, Judy Cornwell, Joanna David, Annette Crosbie, Richard O'Callaghan, Avril Elgar, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Sylvia Barter, Maryann Turner, David Quilter, Margaretta Scott, Barbara Hicks and Reginald Jessup |||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Paying Guests: The Final Assent" | Michael Simpson | E. F. Benson (novel) Thomas Ellice | Rosemary Hill | 2 October 1986 (1986-10-02) |
| Cast : Robert Hardy, Angela Thorne, Benjamin Whitrow, Judy Cornwell, Joanna David, Annette Crosbie, Richard O'Callaghan, Avril Elgar, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Sylvia Barter, Maryann Turner, David Quilter, Margaretta Scott, Barbara Hicks and Reginald Jessup |||||||

### Series 2 (1987)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 14 | 1 | "The Trial of Klaus Barbie" | Gareth Jones | Ray Jenkins | Tim Ironside Wood Dennis Woolf Claudia Milne | 15 July 1987 (1987-07-15) |
| Cast : Mark Kingston, Maurice Denham, Christian Burgess, Jonathan Adams, Bernard Brown, David De Keyser, James Griffiths, Raad Rawi, John Stride, Colin Welland, David Calder, Charles Simon, Don Fellows, Sheila Raynor, Ronald Herdman, Lila Kaye, Peter Copley, Ray Smith, Tenniel Evans, Peter Woodthorpe, John Boswall, Sheila Burrell, Margery Mason, Margery Withers, Diana Coupland, Peggy Mount, Matyelok Gibbs, Lollie May, Beryl Cooke, Bruce Montague, Paul Anil and Jim McManus |||||||
| 15 | 2 | "Land" | David Wheatley | Barry Collins | David M. Thompson | 22 July 1987 (1987-07-22) |
| Cast : John Terry, Fernando Continentino, Rui Polanah, Maria Padilha, Bebeto Baia, Dira Paes and Eduardo Conde |||||||
| 16 | 3 | "Lily My Love" | Adrian Shergold | Elisabeth Bond | David Snodin | 29 July 1987 (1987-07-29) |
| Cast : Bill Paterson, Cindy Holden, David Horovitch, Ian Sharp, Lynne Verrall, Will Tacey and Graeme Kirk |||||||
| 17 | 4 | "Cariani and the Courtesans" | Leslie Megahey | Leslie Megahey | David M. Thompson | 5 August 1987 (1987-08-05) |
| Cast : Paul McGann, Simon Callow, Michael Gough, Diana Quick, Louiza Livingstone, Robert Goodman, Charles Gray, Lucy Hancock, Linda Polan, Caroline England, Teresa Benham, Clive Merrison and Anthony Milner |||||||
| 18 | 5 | "Our Lady Blue" | Robin Midgley | Heidi Thomas | Brenda Reid | 12 August 1987 (1987-08-12) |
| Cast : Patricia Hayes, Doreen Mantle, Eva Griffith, Paul Beringer, Maudie Smith, Mollie Maureen and Graham Aggrey |||||||
| 19 | 6 | "White Lady" | David Rudkin | David Rudkin | Carol Parks | 26 August 1987 (1987-08-26) |
| Cast : Cornelius Garrett, Sophie Thompson, Jessica Martin and Meg Wynn Owen |||||||
| 20 | 7 | "Scout" | Danny Boyle | Frank McGuinness | N/A | 8 September 1987 (1987-09-08) |
| Cast : Ray McAnally, Stephen Rea, Colin Connor, Michael Liebman, Gerard O'Hare, Lloyd Hutchinson, Jeremy Chapman and Paul Ryder |||||||
| 21 | 8 | "The Venus de Milo Instead" | Danny Boyle | Anne Devlin | N/A | 9 September 1987 (1987-09-09) |
| Cast : Jeananne Crowley, Lorcan Cranitch, Iain Cuthbertson, Ruth McGuigan, Ann Hasson, Trudy Kelly, Aine McCartney, Leila Webster, Bridget Erin Bates, B J Hogg, Mark Mulholland, Brenda Winter, Jean Claude Deret, Sylvie Fevre, Tony Doyle |||||||
| 22 | 9 | "The Rockingham Shoot" | Kieran Hickey | John McGahern | Danny Boyle | 10 September 1987 (1987-09-10) |
| Cast : Bosco Hogan, Niall Toibin, Tony Rohr, Marie Kean, Oliver Maguire, Ian McElhinney, Hilary Reynolds, John Olohan, Gerard McSorley, Libby Smyth, Carmel McDonnell, Ronan Wilmot, Dick Holland, William Walker, John Keyes, Tony Coleman, Michael Gormley and Lucie Jamieson |||||||
| 23 | 10 | "The Shutter Falls" | Peter Barber-Fleming | Norman Malcolm MacDonald | Tom Kinninmont Norman McCandlish | 16 September 1987 (1987-09-16) |
| Cast : Anthony Higgins, Emer Gillespie, Stella Gonet, Mary McInnes, Ewan Stewart, Billy Riddoch, Joan Scott, Hugh Martin, Gerry Slevin, Leonard Maguire, Iain Glass, Madelaine Taylor, Lloret McKenna and Robert Urquhart |||||||
| 24 | 11 | "Christine" | Alan Clarke | Alan Clarke Arthur Ellis | Brenda Reid | 23 September 1987 (1987-09-23) |
| Cast : Vicky Murdock, Kelly George, Joanne Mapp, Mark Harvey and Anthony Smith |||||||
| 25 | 12 | "The Interrogation of John" | Nicholas Renton | Malcolm McKay | David Snodin | 30 September 1987 (1987-09-30) |
| Cast : Dennis Quilley, Bill Paterson, Michael Fitzgerald, Andrew Seear, Jimmy Yuill, Dean Harris, Sean Caffrey, Richard Cordery, Patrick Godfrey, David Quilter, Kenny Ireland, Niall Padden, Penny Leatherbarrow, Trevor Penton, Jonty Stephens, David Adair, Bill Thomas, John Ramm and Ian Arthur |||||||
| 26 | 13 | "Road" | Alan Clarke | Jim Cartwright | Andrée Molyneux David M. Thompson | 7 October 1987 (1987-10-07) |
| Cast : Jane Horrocks, Mossie Smith, Neil Dudgeon, William Armstrong, Susan Brown, David Thewlis, Moya Brady, Alan David, Lesley Sharp, Barbara Keogh, Tim Dantay, Andrew Wilde and Willy Ross Awards : Winner of the Best Television Drama Prize at the Monte Carlo Television Festival |||||||

### Series 3 (1988)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 27 | 1 | "No Further Cause for Concern" | John Bruce | Rib Davis | Graham Massey | 13 July 1988 (1988-07-13) |
| Cast : Sean Chapman, Rod Culbertson, John Benfield, John Tamms, Garrie J Lammin, David Hargreaves, Tony Melody, Roland Oliver, Edwin Brown, Ivor Roberts, Shaughan Seymour, Celia Bannerman, Trevor Cooper, John Sterland, David Arlen, Neil Todd, Terry Bamber and Terence Plummer |||||||
| 28 | 2 | "A Woman Alone" | Sharon Miller | Dario Fo and Franca Rame translated by Gillian Hanna | Brenda Reid | 20 July 1988 (1988-07-20) |
| Cast : Lynn Redgrave, Nicholas Teare and Anthony Best |||||||
| 29 | 3 | "Burning Ambition" | Roger Bamford | N/A | George Faber | 27 July 1988 (1988-07-27) |
| Cast : Simon McBurney, Marcello Magni, Richard Hope, Clive Mendus, Tim Barlow, Linda Kerr Scott, Rose English, Mick Barnfather, Jos Houben, Celia Gore Booth, Jean Campbell Dallas and Annabel Arden |||||||
| 30 | 4 | "Eskimos Do It" | Derek Lister | Jim Barton | Richard Langridge | 3 August 1988 (1988-08-03) |
| Cast : Jean Boht, Liz Fraser, Ian Brimble, Neil Pearson, Ania Marson, Francis Low, Oscar Quitak, Jo Unwin, Cheryl Maiker and Catrin Menna |||||||
| 31 | 5 | "Out of Love" | Michael Houldey | Tom Clarke | Ruth Caleb | 10 August 1988 (1988-08-10) |
| Cast : Juliet Stevenson, Dafydd Hywel, Emrys James, Cadfan Roberts, Robert Gwilym, Robin Griffith, Gwenllian Vies, John Henry-Hughes, Eluned Jones, Huw Neville and Meirion Morris |||||||
| 32 | 6 | "Home Front" | Penny Cherns | Nick McCarty | Graham Massey | 24 August 1988 (1988-08-24) |
| Cast : Stephen McGann, Jason Cunliffe, Wilbert Johnson, Simon Vaughan, Jan Ruppe, Cathy Sandford, Nick Stringer, Patty Hannock, Michael Bray, Tina Marian, Tom Hutchinson, Geff Francis, Ursula Jones, Nicholas Day, Stafford Gordon, Kate O'Connell, Tim Brown, Maurice Kaufmann, Frankie Cosgrave and Tim Gatti |||||||
| 33 | 7 | "Between the Cracks" | Lucy Parker | Lennie James and Lucy Parker | Ruth Caleb | 31 August 1988 (1988-08-31) |
| Cast : Leah Adeola, Richard Bench, Giselle Glasman, Kevin Gopie, Lennie James, Anthony Lennon, Simon McNally, Cliff Parisi, Baron Philip, Michael Quain, Gerald Simms and Richard Taylor |||||||
| 34 | 8 | "The Black and Blue Lamp" | Guy Slater | Arthur Ellis | Brenda Reid | 7 September 1988 (1988-09-07) |
| Cast : Sean Chapman, Ian Brimble, Karl Johnson, John Woodvine, Nick Stringer, Peter Lovstrom, Kenneth Cranham, Ralph Brown, Barry Woolgar, Jonathan Chater, Paddy Ryan and Anthony Smee |||||||
| 35 | 9 | "The Diary of Rita Patel" | Michael Jackley | Carole Boyer | Carolyn Montagu | 14 September 1988 (1988-09-14) |
| Cast : Cheryl Miller, Tony Wredden, Indira Joshi, Assam Mamodeally, Malcolm Scates, David Adair, Kumall Grewal, Dev Sagoo, Lyndam Gregory, Ian Arthur, Michael Mulkerrin, Jon Strickland, Melissa Wilson, Maiser Asghar, Sam Smart, Chis Pitt, Howard Shannon, Cy Town, Tony Calvert, Lee MacDonald, Martin Phillips and Ozzie Stevens |||||||
| 36 | 10 | "Starlings" | David Wheatley | Andy Armitage | Brenda Reid | 28 September 1988 (1988-09-28) |
| Cast : Michael Maloney, Lynsey Baxter, David Ryall, Jane Downs, Frank Mills, Derek Newark, Wendy Seely, Tim Dantay, Lottie Ward, Ann Aris, Tommy Boyle, Robert Addie, Ralph Watson, Nicholas Fry, Guy Manning, Richard Lintern, Lucy Aston, Charmian Gradwell, Miles Richardson, Joshua Le Touzel, Ysanne Churchman, Pippa Vickers, Daphne Neville, Michael McStay, Alister Cameron and Anthony Benson |||||||

### Series 4 (1989)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 37 | 1 | "Testimony of a Child" | Peter Smith | Lucy Gannon | Louise Panton and Ruth Caleb | 5 July 1989 (1989-07-05) |
| Cast : John Bowe, Jill Baker, Jonathan Leigh, Victoria Shalet, Heather Tobias, Paul Copley, Dermot Crowley, Ann Curthoys, Anthony Smee, Lucy Foxwell, Kate Lonergan, Marlene Sidaway and Deborah Winckles |||||||
| 38 | 2 | "A Night on the Tyne" | Corin Campbell-Hill | Bill Gallagher | Ruth Caleb | 12 July 1989 (1989-07-12) |
| Cast : Bryan Pringle, Alun Armstrong, Leslie Schofield, Robson Green, Melanie Hill, George Irving, Ralph Watson, Jimmy Swan, Rosalind Bailey, Eric Nicholson, Joe Ging and Steve Sutton |||||||
| 39 | 3 | "Loving Hazel" | Peter Smith | Les Smith | George Faber | 19 July 1989 (1989-07-19) |
| Cast : Hugh Quarshie, Susan Brown, Gemma Darungton, Stephen Bent, Doña Croll, Sheila Kelley, Valerie Lilley, Arti Prashar, Andy Hockley, Ellie Haddington and Alan Cooke |||||||
| 40 | 4 | "The Attractions" | Anthony Garner | Tony Marchant | Richard Langridge | 26 July 1989 (1989-07-26) |
| Cast : Benjamin Whitrow, Reece Dinsdale and Ethna Roddy |||||||
| 41 | 5 | "Chinese Whispers" | Stuart Burge | Maurice Leitch | Robert Cooper | 2 August 1989 (1989-08-02) |
| Cast : Niall Buggy, Gary Waldhorn, Martin Wenner, Annette Badland, Niall Cusack, Liam de Staic, Renny Krupinski, Breffni McKenna, Tony Rohr, George Shane, Daragh O'Malley, Trudy Kelly, Trevor Moore and Mel Austin |||||||
| 42 | 6 | "The Act" | Roy Battersby | Richard Langridge | Ruth Caleb | 9 August 1989 (1989-08-09) |
| Cast : Jack Shepherd, Barry Jackson, Kenneth Haigh, Andy de la Tour, Sally Dexter, Dominic Muldowney, Andrew Findon and Terry Seymour |||||||
| 43 | 7 | "The Spirit of Man" | Peter Barnes | Peter Barnes | Richard Langridge | 23 August 1989 (1989-08-23) |
| Cast : Peter Bayliss, Dilys Laye, Clive Merrison, John Turner, Eleanor David, Nigel Hawthorne, Alan Rickman, Iain Cuthbertson, Harold Innocent and Peter Jeffrey |||||||
| 44 | 8 | "Beyond the Pale" | Diarmuid Lawrence | William Trevor | Robert Cooper | 30 August 1989 (1989-08-30) |
| Cast : Prunella Scales, Annette Crosbie, Robert Lang, Ronald Hines, Jeff Rawle, James Greene, Doreen Hepburn, Barbara Adair and Ann Forsythe |||||||
| 45 | 9 | "The Hen House" | Danny Boyle | Frank McGuinness | Robert Cooper | 6 September 1989 (1989-09-06) |
| Cast : Sinead Cusack, Tony Doyle, Barry Birch, Pat Leavy, Eleanor Methven, Nathan Carr, Darryl Carr, Maria McDermottroe, Colm Carlin, Domhnall Carlin and Noel Magee |||||||
| 46 | 10 | "Seeing in the Dark" | Gareth Jones | Allen Drury | George Faber | 13 September 1989 (1989-09-13) |
| Cast : David Threlfall, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Greg Hicks, Jane Bertish, Maurice Denham, Janet Steel, Stewart Bevan, Sam Howard, Symond Lawes and Giles Newington |||||||
| 47 | 11 | "A Small Mourning" | Chris Bernard | Martyn Hesford | George Faber | 20 September 1989 (1989-09-20) |
| Cast : Alison Steadman, Stratford Johns, Ian Deam, Catherine Ivie, Elizabeth Bradley, Tina Earl, Pauline Yates, Dinah Handley, Celia Gore-Booth, Alan Bird, Elizabeth Crawford, Pat Mills and Sheldon Goodinson |||||||

### Series 5 (1990)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 48 | 1 | "Amongst Barbarians" | Jane Howell | Michael Wall | Richard Langridge | 11 July 1990 (1990-07-11) |
| Cast : David Jason, Rowena Cooper, Anne Carroll, Lee Ross, Con O'Neill, Kathy Burke, Josephine Welcome, Madhav Sharma, Ricardo Sibelo and Anthony Smee |||||||
| 49 | 2 | "Antonia and Jane" | Beeban Kidron | Marcy Kahan | George Faber | 18 July 1990 (1990-07-18) |
| Cast : Imelda Staunton, Saskia Reeves, Brenda Bruce, Bill Nighy, Ian Redford, Allan Corduner, Richard Hope and Iain Cuthbertson |||||||
| 50 | 3 | "Night Voice" | Richard Spence | Dave Sheasby | John Chapman | 25 July 1990 (1990-07-25) |
| Cast : Alexei Sayle, Kevin Whately, Ruth Sheen, Leslie Sharp, Ian Mercer, Neil Dudgeon, Tim Barker, Sam Kelly, Rachel Bell, Gary Beadle, Barbara Hicks, Danny Schiller, Shirley Stelfox, Noreen Kershaw, Ingrid Wells, Stefan Escreet, David Boyce, Darren Scott, Tom Craig, Jan Alphonse, Chris Hargreaves, Sharon Muircroft, Kelly Breakell, Ray Ashcroft, Kathy Jamieson and Dinah Handley |||||||
| 51 | 4 | "The Englishman's Wife" | Robert Cooper | Holly Chandler | Robert Cooper | 1 August 1990 (1990-08-01) |
| Cast : Imelda Staunton, Adrian Dunbar, Denys Hawthorne, Laura Hill, Trevor Moore, Alan Devlin, Shane Connaughton, Gary Walker, Louis Rolston, Chris Samsworth, Conleth Hill, Sean Doherty and Michael Doherty |||||||
| 52 | 5 | "The Land of Dreams" | Diarmuid Lawrence | Allan Cubitt | Colin Ludlow | 8 August 1990 (1990-08-08) |
| Cast : Antony Sher, Patrick Shai, Rudi Davies, Ian Bartholomew, Tamara Hinchco, Antony Carrick, Nathan Dambuza Mdledle, Ewen Cummins, Jude Akuwudike, Chris Stanton and Joe Wenbourne |||||||
| 53 | 6 | "Keeping Tom Nice" | Louise Panton | Lucy Gannon | Ruth Caleb | 15 August 1990 (1990-08-15) |
| Cast : John Alderton, Gwen Taylor, Linus Roache, Henrietta Bess, Sean Chapman and Ann Curthoys |||||||
| 54 | 7 | "A Safe House" | Moira Armstrong | Bill Morrison | N/A | 22 August 1990 (1990-08-22) |
| Cast : Maggie Shevlin, Gary Lilburn, James Coyle, Dan Gordon, Niall Cusack, Gerard O'Hare, Patrick O'Kane, James Matthews, Peter Ferdinando, P J Nicholas, Scott Riley, Annatt Bass, Lousie Kattenhorn, Lauren Martin, Victoria Aked, Fleur Fekkes, Christian Robinson, Mia Callow, Jonathan Stratt, Jeffrey Robert, Ian Thompson, Harold Saks, Tony Stephens, Michael Dalton, Barrie Ewart, Tony O'Callaghan, Al Gregg, Richard Pescud, Christopher Driscoll, Mark Shelley, Nicholas Jeune, Derek Anders and Sarah Whitlock |||||||
| 55 | 8 | "Afters" | Malcolm McKay | Polly Teale | Paul Uster | 29 August 1990 (1990-08-29) |
| Cast : Jimmy Jewel, Constance Chapman and Natasha Williams |||||||
| 56 | 9 | "Wedded" | Malcolm McKay | Jim Cartwright | Paul Uster | 29 August 1990 (1990-08-29) |
| Cast : Sean Bean, Lesley Sharp and Melanie Thaw |||||||
| 57 | 10 | "Available Light" | Bob Bentley | Robert Smith | Tatiana Kennedy | 5 September 1990 (1990-09-05) |
| Cast : Tom Bell, Joely Richardson, David Morrissey, Tiga Adams and Louisa Wooff |||||||
| 58 | 11 | "Needle" | Gillies MacKinnon | Jimmy McGovern | George Faber | 12 September 1990 (1990-09-12) |
| Cast : Sean McKee, Emma Bird, Pete Postlethwaite, Anna Keaveney, John Bennett, Paul Barber, Gary Mavers, Stephen Walters, Arthur Kelly, Andrew Schofield, John Conteh, Carleen Ann Lundon, Thomas Branch, Paul Broughton, Tim Barlow, Vincent Maguire, Ina Clough and Chris Darwin |||||||
| 59 | 12 | "Traitors" | Malcolm McKay | Jimmy McGovern | Simon Passmore | 5 November 1990 (1990-11-05) |
| Cast : Anton Lesser, Geoffrey Hutchings, Tim Woodward, Jonathan Phillips, David Sibley, Cyril Shaps, Ian Brimble, John Southworth, David Foxxe, Gerrard McArthur, David Chittenden, Paraic Cullen, Metin Marlow, and David Cooper NB: Although not billed as an episode of ScreenPlay in the Radio Times, it was as such - or as a "Screenplay Special" - in some newspaper listings, and started with the contemporary series title sequence |||||||
| 60 | 13 | "Shoot the Revolution" | Jane Howell | Peter Flannery | George Faber | 16 December 1990 (1990-12-16) |
| Cast : Bernard Hill, Bob Peck, Freddie Jones, Sorcha Cusack, Iain Cuthbertson, Dido Miles, Trevor Peacock, Matyelok Gibbs, Ralph Nossek, Pauline Letts, Roland Oliver, Lee Ross, Jonathan Firth, Morris Perry, Michael Graham Cox and David Graham |||||||
| 61 | 14 | "August Saturday" | Diarmuid Lawrence | William Trevor | Robert Cooper | 29 December 1990 (1990-12-29) |
| Cast : Sorcha Cusack, Tim McInnerny, Barry McGovern, John Kavanagh, Bairbre Ni Chaoimh, Peter Caffrey, Martina Stanley, Bosco Hogan, Rynagh O'Grady, Tony Rohr, Stephanie Fayerman, Maria McDermottroe, John Grillo, Brigid Erin Bates, Tom Hickey, Fidelma O'Dowda, Garvan McGrath, Karen O'Shea, Noel McGee and Carmel McDonnell |||||||

### Series 6 (1991)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 62 | 1 | "Redemption" | Malcolm McKay | Malcolm McKay | George Faber | 3 July 1991 (1991-07-03) |
| Cast : Tom Courtenay, Malcolm Storry, Lindsay Duncan, Miranda Richardson, Nick Moran, Liza Walker, Chloe Bates, Oliver Cotton, Trevor Cooper, Frank Mills and John Southworth |||||||
| 63 | 2 | "Broke" | Alan Dossor | Stephen Bill | Barry Hanson | 10 July 1991 (1991-07-10) |
| Cast : Timothy Spall, Sheila Kelley, Larry Lamb, Susan Wooldridge, Leo Bill, Rosie Bill, Laura Dixon, Arthur Whybrow, Hilda Fenemore, Thomas Wheatley, Carole Harrison, Graham Weston, Peter Wear, Pauline Cory, Davyd Harries, Bharti Patel, Kenneth Hadley, Brian Portsmouth, Kathryn Hurlbutt and Shahnaz Pakravan |||||||
| 64 | 3 | "Events at Drimaghleen" | Robert Cooper | William Trevor | Robert Cooper | 17 July 1991 (1991-07-17) |
| Cast : T. P. McKenna, Sophie Ward, Hugh Fraser, Nick Dunning, Kate Binchy, Pat Laffan, John Kavanagh, Maeve Connelly, Gary Walker and Barbara Adair |||||||
| 65 | 4 | "The Fallout Guy" | Paul Tickell | John Random | Caroline Oulton | 24 July 1991 (1991-07-24) |
| Cast : Lou Hirsch, Amanda Boxer, Eugene Lipinski, Maria Charles, Joe Melia, Lex Van Delden, Nicolas Colicos, Mitch Webb and James Tillitt |||||||
| 66 | 5 | "Murder in Oakland" | Karl Francis | Karl Francis | Peter Goodchild and Ruth Kenley-Letts | 31 July 1991 (1991-07-31) |
| Cast : Ving Rhames, Lili Bernard, Lonnie Ford, Algin Ford, Brenda Callahan, Eriq La Salle, Mollie McAllister, Carol Little, Hansford Prince, Michael McFall, Edmond Johnson, Kenneth Crow, James Brooks, Deborah Garrett and Kevin Hope |||||||
| 67 | 6 | "Came Out, It Rained, Went Back in Again" | Betsan Morris Evans | Claire Dowie | N/A | 7 August 1991 (1991-08-07) |
| Cast : Jane Horrocks, Gwen Taylor, Janine Duvitski and Serena Evans |||||||
| 68 | 7 | "Oranges and Lemons" | David Yates | Kay Adshead | N/A | 7 August 1991 (1991-08-07) |
| Cast : Olusola Oyeleye |||||||
| 69 | 8 | "The Missing Finger" | Simon Cellan Jones | Nick Stafford | N/A | 7 August 1991 (1991-08-07) |
| Cast : Treva Etienne and Adjuna Andoh |||||||
| 70 | 9 | "One Day" | Ian Potts | Helen Edmundson | N/A | 7 August 1991 (1991-08-07) |
| Cast : Kate Byers |||||||
| 71 | 10 | "Paint" | Laura Sims | Kathy Page | N/A | 7 August 1991 (1991-08-07) |
| Cast : Ray Winstone and Jenny Jules |||||||
| 72 | 11 | "The Hour of the Lynx" | Stuart Burge | Per Olov Enquist translated by Kim Dambaek | Colin Ludlow | 14 August 1991 (1991-08-14) |
| Cast : Simon Donald, Sylvestra Le Touzel and Eleanor Bron |||||||
| 73 | 12 | "Clubland" | Laura Sims | Nick Perry | Chris Parr | 28 August 1991 (1991-08-28) |
| Cast : Paul Bhattacharjee, David Morrissey, Ruth Sheen, Daniel Webb, Laura Favali, Laurence Cote, Al Fiorentini, Laurence Bouvard, Kristin Zachariassen and Sarah Martin |||||||
| 74 | 13 | "Arise and Go Now" | Danny Boyle | Owen O'Neill | Paul Lister | 4 September 1991 (1991-09-04) |
| Cast : John Kavanagh, Michael Liebmann, Tony Doyle, Jim Norton, Ian Bannen, Peter Caffrey, Sean Caffrey and Birdy Sweeney |||||||
| 75 | 14 | "Message to Major" | Francis Gerard | Pieter-Dirk Uys | Francis Gerard | 11 September 1991 (1991-09-11) |
| Cast : Pieter-Dirk Uys |||||||
| 76 | 15 | "Journey to Knock" | David Wheatley | William Ivory | George Faber | 18 September 1991 (1991-09-18) |
| Cast : John Hurt, David Thewlis, Charles Simon, Mal Whyte, Patrick Laffan, Geraldine Plunkett, Joan O'Hara and Birdy Sweeney |||||||

### Series 7 (1992)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 77 | 1 | "The Countess Alice" | Moira Armstrong | Allan Cubitt | Colin Ludlow | 1 July 1992 (1992-07-01) |
| Cast : Wendy Hiller, Zoë Wanamaker, Duncan Bell, Patricia Quinn, Lucinda Fisher, Sylvia Barter, Madge Ryan, Chris Stanton, Martin Wimbush, Hannah Cresswell, Terence Donovan, Sarah Crowden and Jane van Hool |||||||
| 78 | 2 | "Force of Duty" | Pat O'Connor | Bill Morrison and Chris Ryder | Robert Cooper | 8 July 1992 (1992-07-08) |
| Cast : Donal McCann, Adrian Dunbar, Patrick Malahide, Ingrid Craigie, John Linehan, Michelle Fairley, Jim Corry, Catherine Brennan, Michael McKnight, Tim Loane, Carol Brown, Kristin Neely, Barry Birch, Sean Caffrey, Ethna Roddy, Paula McFetridge, BJ Hogg, Dan Gordon and Eileen Pollock |||||||
| 79 | 3 | "Bad Girl" | George Case | Guy Hibbert | David Thompson Josephine Ward | 15 July 1992 (1992-07-15) |
| Cast : Jane Horrocks, Lesley Manville, Nicholas Woodeson, Tom Beard, Todd Boyce, David Bradley and Carol MacReady |||||||
| 80 | 4 | "Bitter Harvest" | Simon Cellan Jones | Charles Pattinson and Winsome Pinnock | Charles Pattinson | 22 July 1992 (1992-07-22) |
| Cast : Josette Simon, Sue Johnston, Yul Vazquez, Rudolph Walker, Tomas Milian, Juan M Almonte and Juanita Ageh |||||||
| 81 | 5 | "Man to Man" | John Maybury | Manfred Karge | James Mackay | 29 July 1992 (1992-07-29) |
| Cast : Tilda Swinton |||||||
| 82 | 6 | "Death and the Compass" | Alex Cox | Jorge Luis Borges (story) Alex Cox | Karl H Braun | 5 August 1992 (1992-08-05) |
| Cast : Peter Boyle, Miguel Sandoval, Christopher Eccleston, Pedro Armendariz and Alonso Echanove |||||||
| 83 | 7 | "Buying a Landslide" | Simon Curtis | David Edgar | Chris Parr | 2 September 1992 (1992-09-02) |
| Cast : Griffin Dunne, John Mahoney, Ron Vawter, Lisa Arrindell, Peter Gallagher, Mason Adams, Ron Rifkin and Christine Baranski |||||||
| 84 | 8 | "Springing Lenin" | Andrei Nekrasov | Patricia Hannah | Tatiana Kennedy | 9 September 1992 (1992-09-09) |
| Cast : Geraldine McEwan |||||||
| 85 | 9 | "Business with Friends" | Uwe Janson | David Spencer | Tatiana Kennedy | 9 September 1992 (1992-09-09) |
| Cast : Christopher Eccleston and Adie Allen |||||||
| 86 | 10 | "Can't Stop Me Dreaming" | Bernard Rudden | Bernard Rudden | Tatiana Kennedy | 9 September 1992 (1992-09-09) |
| Cast : Marion van Thyn and Walter van Dyk |||||||
| 87 | 11 | "A Little Bit of Lippy" | Chris Bernard | Martyn Hesford | George Faber | 16 September 1992 (1992-09-16) |
| Cast : Kenneth Cranham, Rachel Davies, Alison Swann, Danny Cunningham, Elizabeth Bradley, Bette Bourne, Tina Earl and Cliff Howells |||||||
| 88 | 12 | "Dread Poets' Society" | Andy Wilson | David Stafford and Benjamin Zephaniah | Estelle Daniel | 23 September 1992 (1992-09-23) |
| Cast : Benjamin Zephaniah, Timothy Spall, Alex Jennings, Alan Cumming, Emma Fielding and Dexter Fletcher |||||||
| 89 | 13 | "Small Metal Jacket" | Steve Hilliker | Emily Prager (story) Scott Roberts | Caroline Oulton | 23 September 1992 (1992-09-23) |
| Cast : Debora Weston, Toshie Ogura, Marie Theodore, Jana Shelden, Tracy Thorne, Laurel Lefkow, Abigail Canton, Benedict Wong, Vincent Wong, Basil Ho-Yen, Kris Emmerson and Peter Banks |||||||
| 90 | 14 | "You, Me and Marley" | Richard Spence | Graham Reid | Chris Parr | 30 September 1992 (1992-09-30) |
| Cast : Marc Oshea, Bronagh Gallagher, Michael Liebmann, Emma Moylan, Marie Jones, Catherine Brennan, Stella McCusker, Frank Grimes, Lorcan Cranitch, James Greene, Ian McElhinney, John Keegan, George Shane, BJ Hogg, Peter Ferris and Peter Taggart Awards : Michael Powell Award for best British film at Edinburgh International Film Festival 1992 |||||||

### Series 8 (1993)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Producer | Original release date |
| 91 | 1 | "Love Lies Bleeding" | Michael Winterbottom | Ronan Bennett | Robert Cooper | 22 September 1993 (1993-09-22) |
| Cast : Mark Rylance, Elizabeth Bourgine, John Kavanagh, Brendan Gleeson, Tony Doyle, Robert Patterson, George Shane, James Nesbitt, Emma Jordan, Stuart Graham, Tim Loane, James Durrell, Michael Liebmann, Bosco Hogan, Margaret D'Arcy, Paula Hamilton and Victoria Jameson |||||||
| 92 | 2 | "The Merrihill Millionaires" | Les Blair | Rob Ritchie | Lynn Horsford | 29 September 1993 (1993-09-29) |
| Cast : Stephen Rea, John Bowler, John McGlynn, Steve Huison, Glenn Cunningham, Simon Ashley, Elizabeth Mickery, Barbara Horne, Shelagh Fraser, William Ivory, Steve Halliwell, Ian Dunn, Kerrie Plowman, Julia Ford, Jon Croft, Philip David, Chris Collings and Al T Kossy |||||||
| 93 | 3 | "The Vision Thing" | Pedr James | Mark Lawson | Charles Pattinson | 6 October 1993 (1993-10-06) |
| Cast : Richard Wilson, Derek Jacobi, Nathaniel Parker, Kenneth Cranham, Catherine Russell, Nicholas Farrell, Clive Russell, Phyllida Sewell, Liz Kettle, Christopher Fulford, Albie Woodington, Lennox Greaves, Gerald Sim, Lisa Bowerman, Dale Rapley, Marilyn Finlay, Anne Marie Marriott, Richard Dixon, Alastair Campbell, Martin Young and Hamish McColl |||||||
| 94 | 4 | "Safe" | Antonia Bird | Al Ashton | David M Thompson | 13 October 1993 (1993-10-13) |
| Cast : Kate Hardie, Aidan Gillen, George Costigan, Andrew Tiernan, Steven Mackintosh, Robert Carlyle, Carol Leader, Neil Smals, Cheryl Maiker, Marc O'Shea, Kevin Walsh and Louise Heaney |||||||
| 95 | 5 | "Not Even God Is Wise Enough" | Danny Boyle | Biyi Bandele-Thomas | Colin Ludlow | 20 October 1993 (1993-10-20) |
| Cast : Paterson Joseph, Vivienne McKone, Ellen Thomas, Mona Hammond, Doyle Richmond, Mark Strong, Trevor Bowen, Kevin Allen and Ben Thomas |||||||
| 96 | 6 | "Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Isles" | John Byrne | John Byrne | Nick Barton | 27 October 1993 (1993-10-27) |
| Cast : Robbie Coltrane, John Sessions, Leo Sho-Silva, Celia Imrie, Tony Halfpenny, Alan David, Carol MacReady, Joanne Thirsk, Penelope McGhie, Mark Anstee, Ian Dury and Donald MacNeill |||||||

## Notable productions

* Cariani and the Courtesans (1987)
* You, Me & Marley (1992)