# Screen One

Screen One is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, several of which were broadcast as stand-alone specials. The series was born following the demise of the BBC's Play for Today, which ran from 1970 to 1984. Producer Kenith Trodd was asked to formulate a new series of one-off television dramas, the result of which was Screen Two, which began broadcasting on BBC2 in 1985. However, while Play for Today's style had often been a largely studio-based form of theatre on television, Screen Two was shot entirely on film. Three of the episodes ("The Accountant", "News Hounds" and "A Question of Attribution") won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama.
In 1989, the series was adapted for more mainstream audiences on BBC1, and Screen One was born to follow the lead taken by Channel 4, several of whose many television films had later been released in cinemas.

## Talent

Screen One attracted many names familiar to television and film audiences, including the likes of Peggy Ashcroft, Alfred Molina, Sean Bean, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone, Alan Bates, Judi Dench, James Fox, Keith Allen, Bob Peck, Alun Armstrong, Marina Sirtis, David Jason, Brenda Blethyn, James Bolam, Adrian Edmondson, Alison Steadman, Timothy West, Clive Russell, Janet McTeer and Michael Murphy. Several actors also made their on-screen debuts during the series, including Keira Knightley in the fifth series episode Royal Celebration.

## Demise

By 1993, the prevailing mood within the BBC was to move away from single dramas and concentrate production on series and serials, and as such, a reduced six-episode series, broadcast in 1994, was to be the last full-length series of Screen One, although a further eight one-off specials followed up to 1998.

## Transmissions

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 8 (7 + 1 Special) | 8 (7 + 1 Special) | 10 September 1989 (1989-09-10) | 27 December 1989 (1989-12-27) |
| 2 | 10 (8 + 2 Specials) | 10 (8 + 2 Specials) | 2 September 1990 (1990-09-02) | 1 January 1991 (1991-01-01) |
| 3 | 10 (8 + 2 Specials) | 10 (8 + 2 Specials) | 20 June 1991 (1991-06-20) | 1 January 1992 (1992-01-01) |
| 4 | 9 (8 + 1 Special) | 9 (8 + 1 Special) | 6 September 1992 (1992-09-06) | 31 October 1992 (1992-10-31) |
| 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 September 1993 (1993-09-05) | 24 October 1993 (1993-10-24) |
| 6 | 7 (6 + 1 Special) | 7 (6 + 1 Special) | 6 February 1994 (1994-02-06) | 16 October 1994 (1994-10-16) |
| 7 | 8 (8 Specials) | 8 (8 Specials) | 20 January 1995 (1995-01-20) | 15 February 1998 (1998-02-15) |

## Episodes
### Series 1 (1989)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "One Way Out" | Mick Ford | Robert Young | 10 September 1989 (1989-09-10) |
| Starring Bob Peck, Denis Lawson, Samantha Bond and Enn Reitel |||||
| 2 | "Nineteen 96" | G. F. Newman | Karl Francis | 17 September 1989 (1989-09-17) |
| Starring Keith Barron, Alun Armstrong, Keith Allen, Dudley Sutton, Roger Brierley, Clyde Pollitt and Roger Nott |||||
| 3 | "The Accountant" | Geoffrey Case | Les Blair | 24 September 1989 (1989-09-24) |
| Starring Alfred Molina and David Graham |||||
| 4 | "Home Run" | Andy Armitage | Nicholas Renton | 1 October 1989 (1989-10-01) |
| Starring Michael Kitchen, Tom Georgeson, Keith Barron, Dean Harris, Dominic Jephcott, Christine Kavanagh and Andrew Powell |||||
| 5 | "She's Been Away" | Stephen Poliakoff | Peter Hall | 8 October 1989 (1989-10-08) |
| Starring Peggy Ashcroft, James Fox, Michael Carter, Rosalie Crutchley, Donald Douglas, David Hargreaves, Geraldine James, Hugh Lloyd, René Zagger and Barnaby Holm |||||
| 6 | "The Mountain and the Molehill" | David Reid | Moira Armstrong | 15 October 1989 (1989-10-15) |
| Starring Michael Gough, John Carson, Paul Brooke, Roger Brierley, Peter Howell, Ian Thompson and James Appleby |||||
| 7 | "Blore M.P." | Robin Chapman | Robert Young | 22 October 1989 (1989-10-22) |
| Starring Timothy West, Oscar Quitak, James Warwick, Barry Jackson, Stephen Moore, Ray Winstone, David Jackson, John Baddeley and Clyde Pollitt. (Based on the novel Scandal, by A.N. Wilson). |||||
| 8 | "Ball-Trap on the Cote Sauvage" | Andrew Davies | Jack Gold | 27 December 1989 (1989-12-27) |
| Special. Starring Jack Shepherd, Zoë Wanamaker, Miranda Richardson and Michael Kitchen |||||

### Series 2 (1990—1991)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "News Hounds" | Les Blair | Les Blair | 2 September 1990 (1990-09-02) |
| Starring Adrian Edmondson, Alison Steadman, Steven Mackintosh, Edwina Currie, Paul Kember and Nigel Pegram |||||
| 2 | "Frankenstein's Baby" | Emma Tennant | Robert Bierman | 9 September 1990 (1990-09-09) |
| Starring Nigel Planer, Kate Buffery and Elizabeth Carling |||||
| 3 | "The Police" | Arthur Ellis | Ian Knox | 16 September 1990 (1990-09-16) |
| Starring Oliver Ford Davies, Derek Martin, Arbel Jones and Paul Collins |||||
| 4 | "Sweet Nothing" | Vincent O'Connell | Tony Smith | 23 September 1990 (1990-09-23) |
| Starring Lee Ross, Charlotte Coleman, Simon Cadell, Victor Maddern and Michael Melia |||||
| 5 | "Can You Hear Me Thinking?" | Monty Haltrecht & Beverley Marcus | Christopher Morahan | 30 September 1990 (1990-09-30) |
| Starring Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Richard Henders, Charmian May, Pik-Sen Lim, Cyril Shaps, Sally Bretton and Christopher Burgess Released on DVD on 5 November 2007 as part of The Judi Dench Collection. |||||
| 6 | "One Last Chance" | Andrew Kazamia | Gabrielle Beaumont | 7 October 1990 (1990-10-07) |
| Starring Marina Sirtis, Bernard Spear and Eileen Way |||||
| 7 | "Sticky Wickets" | Fletcher Watkins | Dewi Humphreys | 14 October 1990 (1990-10-14) |
| Starring Alun Armstrong, James Bolam, Gillian Elisa, George Sewell and William Thomas |||||
| 8 | "Survival of the Fittest" | Julian Mitchell | Martyn Friend | 21 October 1990 (1990-10-21) |
| Starring Timothy West, Jean Anderson, Nerys Hughes and Elizabeth Spriggs |||||
| 9 | "Dark City" | David Lan | Chris Curling | 11 December 1990 (1990-12-11) |
| Special. Starring Sello Maake Ka-Ncube, Vusi Dibakwane and Thapelo Mafokeng |||||
| 10 | "Happy Feet" | Michael Bradwell | Michael Bradwell | 1 January 1991 (1991-01-01) |
| Special. Starring Phyllis Logan, Jim Broadbent, Derrick O'Connor and Chris Jury |||||

### Series 3 (1991—1992)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "Skulduggery" | Phil Davis | Phil Davis | 20 June 1991 (1991-06-20) |
| Special. Starring David Thewlis, Robin Weaver, Patsy Palmer, Charlie Creed-Miles, Jake Wood and Robert Pugh |||||
| 2 | "Hancock" | William Humble | Tony Smith | 1 September 1991 (1991-09-01) |
| Starring Alfred Molina, Frances Barber, Clive Russell, Paul Brooke, Kenneth Gilbert and Nick Burnell |||||
| 3 | "Tell Me That You Love Me" | Adrian Hodges | Bruce MacDonald | 8 September 1991 (1991-09-08) |
| Starring Judith Scott, Sean Bean, James Wilby, Michael Cochrane and Barbara Ward |||||
| 4 | "Filipina Dreamgirls" | Andrew Davies | Les Blair | 15 September 1991 (1991-09-15) |
| Starring Bill Maynard, Charlie Drake, David Thewlis, Geoffrey Hutchings and Lee Cornes |||||
| 5 | "Dancin' Thru the Dark" | Willy Russell | Mike Ockrent | 22 September 1991 (1991-09-22) |
| Linda is out on her hen night, while her fiance is out on his stag night. Linda is having major doubts about getting married. When both groups arrive at a club, they find the band fronted by her ex-boyfriend—and the love of her life—Peter. Linda has to decide: does she stay and settle down, like her friends want her to, or does she chuck it all in and run away with Peter? Starring Claire Hackett, Con O'Neill, Julia Deakin, Simon O'Brien and Mark Womack Based on the play Stags and Hens. Released on DVD on 26 March 2012. |||||
| 6 | "Ex" | William Humble | Paul Seed | 29 September 1991 (1991-09-29) |
| Starring Griff Rhys Jones, Geraldine James, Penny Downie, Dermot Crowley, Mary Jo Randle, Bruce Montague and Colin Douglas |||||
| 7 | "Prince" | Julie Burchill | David Wheatley | 6 October 1991 (1991-10-06) |
| Starring Sean Bean, Janet McTeer, Celia Montague and Jackie McGuire |||||
| 8 | "Alive and Kicking" | Al Hunter Ashton | Robert Young | 13 October 1991 (1991-10-13) |
| Stevie "Smudger" Smith is a heroin dealer and an addict. His wife Marie is also an addict, and when their baby, Jason, is born he is addicted too. When Jason is taken into care, Marie leaves Smudger to get clean and win Jason back, with the help of unorthodox drug counsellor Liam Kane. Stevie and Liam are soon at loggerheads as Stevie wants his wife and son back, but realises he can only do this if he also gets clean. In trouble with his old gang and his rivals, he does so, but has no interest in the conventional rehabilitation on offer. He decides to form a football team of recovering addicts, helped by his old coach, Earl. Starring Lenny Henry, Robbie Coltrane, Jane Horrocks, Paul Barber, Annabelle Apsion, Imogen Boorman, Geff Francis, Jillie Meers and Sakuntala Ramanee |||||
| 9 | "A Question of Attribution" | Alan Bennett | John Schlesinger | 20 October 1991 (1991-10-20) |
| Starring James Fox, Prunella Scales, Geoffrey Palmer, David Calder, John Cater and Edward de Souza Adapted from the Alan Bennett play. Won the 1992 BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama. Prunella Scales was also nominated for Best Actress. Released on DVD on 26 October 2009 as part of Alan Bennett at the BBC. |||||
| 10 | "Adam Bede" | Maggie Wadey | Giles Foster | 1 January 1992 (1992-01-01) |
| Special. Starring Patsy Kensit, Julia McKenzie, Jean Marsh, Freddie Jones, Paul Brooke, Patsy Byrne, Roy Evans, Edward Jewesbury and Michael Robbins Released on Region 1 DVD in 2007. |||||

### Series 4 (1992)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "A Very Polish Practice" | Andrew Davies | David Tucker | 6 September 1992 (1992-09-06) |
| Starring Peter Davison, David Troughton, Joanna Kanska, Alfred Molina and Gertan Klauber A spin off from the comedy drama series A Very Peculiar Practice. Released together with the series on DVD. |||||
| 2 | "Disaster at Valdez" | Michael Baker | Paul Seed | 13 September 1992 (1992-09-13) |
| Starring Christopher Lloyd, John Heard, Rip Torn, Michael Murphy and Paul Guilfoyle |||||
| 3 | "Born Kicking" | Barry Hines | Mandie Fletcher | 20 September 1992 (1992-09-20) |
| Starring John Abineri, Nicholas Courtney, Norman Bird, Thomas Craig, George Irving, Terry Wogan, David McAlister, Sheila Ruskin, Garfield Morgan, Norman Mitchell and Martin Cochrane |||||
| 4 | "Black and Blue" | G. F. Newman | David Hayman | 27 September 1992 (1992-09-27) |
| Starring Linus Roache, Martin Shaw, Iain Glen, Ray Winstone, David Morrissey, Don Henderson, David Thewlis, Madhav Sharma and Colin McFarlane |||||
| 5 | "Seconds Out" | Lynda La Plante | Bruce MacDonald | 4 October 1992 (1992-10-04) |
| Starring Steven Waddington, Tom Bell, Derek Newark, Jack Watson, Nick Brimble, Frank Mills, Thomas Craig, Tim Barlow, Eric Mason and Roy Heather |||||
| 6 | "Running Late" | Simon Gray | Udayan Prasad | 11 October 1992 (1992-10-11) |
| Starring Peter Bowles, Michael Byrne, James Fleet, Jim McManus, Ian McNeice and Roshan Seth |||||
| 7 | "Losing Track" | Roger Eldridge | Jim Lee | 18 October 1992 (1992-10-18) |
| Starring Alan Bates, Geraldine James and Michael Culver |||||
| 8 | "Trust Me" | Tony Sarchet | Tony Dow | 25 October 1992 (1992-10-25) |
| Starring Alfred Molina, Hywel Bennett, Jill Gascoine, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Edna Doré, Harry Towb, Derek Benfield and David Simeon |||||
| 9 | "Ghostwatch" | Stephen Volk | Lesley Manning | 31 October 1992 (1992-10-31) |
| Special. Starring Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Mike Smith and Craig Charles Released on DVD on 25 November 2002. |||||

### Series 5 (1993)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "Wide-Eyed and Legless" | Deric Longden & Jack Rosenthal | Richard Loncraine | 5 September 1993 (1993-09-05) |
| Starring Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Thora Hird and Moya Brady Later released in cinemas. Retitled The Wedding Gift in America. Released on Region 1 DVD in 2011. |||||
| 2 | "A Foreign Field" | Roy Clarke | Charles Sturridge | 12 September 1993 (1993-09-12) |
| Starring Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Geraldine Chaplin, Lauren Bacall, Jeanne Moreau and Dorothy Grumbar Later released in cinemas. Released on DVD on 3 August 2008. |||||
| 3 | "Down Among the Big Boys" | Peter McDougall | Charles Gormley | 19 September 1993 (1993-09-19) |
| Louie, the Glasgow detective son of a policeman, is about to marry the daughter of the accomplished robbery chief JoJo. Louie is placed in charge of investigating a mystery thief before his wedding. Jojo comes to realize that Louie is looking for him and wrestles with how to handle this. Starring Douglas Henshall, Billy Connolly, John Murtagh, Ewan Stewart, Maggie Bell and Ashley Jensen Released on DVD on 25 September 2006. |||||
| 4 | "Royal Celebration" | William Humble | Ferdinand Fairfax | 26 September 1993 (1993-09-26) |
| Starring Kenneth Cranham, Minnie Driver, Rupert Graves, Leslie Phillips, Keira Knightley and Gordon Salkilld. This was Knightley's first screen appearance. |||||
| 5 | "Tender Loving Care" | Lucy Gannon | Dewi Humphreys | 3 October 1993 (1993-10-03) |
| Starring Dawn French, Rosemary Leach, Joan Sims, Peter Jones and Llewellyn Rees |||||
| 6 | "Money for Nothing" | Tim Firth | Mike Ockrent | 10 October 1993 (1993-10-10) |
| Starring Julian Glover, Martin Short, Christien Anholt, Paul Reynolds, Tim Preece, Wolf Kahler and Sean Baker |||||
| 7 | "Wall of Silence" | Maurice Gran & Laurence Marks | Philip Saville | 17 October 1993 (1993-10-17) |
| Starring Bill Paterson, Warren Mitchell, Timothy Busfield, John Bowe and Brigitte Kahn |||||
| 8 | "The Bullion Boys" | Jim Hitchmough | Christopher Morahan | 24 October 1993 (1993-10-24) |
| The true story of how Britain's gold reserve was secretly transferred to Liverpool at the start of the Second World War. Starring David Jason, Tim Pigott-Smith, Gorden Kaye, Brenda Blethyn, Geoffrey Hutchings and Paul Angelis Won the 1994 International Emmy Award for Drama. |||||

### Series 6 (1994)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "Bambino Mio" | Colin Welland | Edward Bennett | 6 February 1994 (1994-02-06) |
| Special. Starring Julie Walters, Georges Corraface, John McArdle and Orlando Urdaneta Released on VHS on 24 January 2000. |||||
| 2 | "A Breed of Heroes" | Charles Wood | Diarmuid Lawrence | 4 September 1994 (1994-09-04) |
| Starring Samuel West, Robert Bathurst, Alexander Armstrong, Daniel Flynn, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Jonathan Firth, Richard Griffiths and Shaun Dingwall |||||
| 3 | "Pat and Margaret" | Victoria Wood | Gavin Millar | 11 September 1994 (1994-09-11) |
| Starring Victoria Wood, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Don Henderson, Duncan Preston, Thora Hird, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Shirley Stelfox, Roger Brierley, Tenniel Evans and Charles Pemberton Released on DVD on 21 May 2007. |||||
| 4 | "Two Golden Balls" | Maureen Chadwick | Anya Camilleri | 18 September 1994 (1994-09-18) |
| Starring Kim Cattrall, Claire Skinner, Christopher Ellison, Rowena King and Leslie Phillips |||||
| 5 | "Meat" | Daniel Boyle | John Madden | 25 September 1994 (1994-09-25) |
| Starring Jonny Lee Miller, Sarah-Jane Potts, Peter Wight and John Simm |||||
| 6 | "Murder in Mind" | Jenny Diski | Robert Bierman | 2 October 1994 (1994-10-02) |
| Starring Cathryn Harrison, Trevor Eve, Anna Massey, Steven Mackintosh, Bruce Alexander and Christopher Owen |||||
| 7 | "Doggin' Around" | Alan Plater | Desmond Davis | 16 October 1994 (1994-10-16) |
| Starring Elliott Gould, Geraldine James, Alun Armstrong, Ewan McGregor, Liz Smith, Ronnie Scott, Stephen Marcus, Jamie Foreman, Larry Lamb, Judy Flynn and Tony Caunter |||||

### Specials (1995–1998)

| Episode | Title | Written by | Directed by | Original airdate |
| 1 | "The Plant" | Jonathan Lewis | Jonathan Lewis | 20 January 1995 (1995-01-20) |
| Starring Joanna Roth, Valentine Pelka, Eoin McCarthy, Sally Dexter and Ian Burfield |||||
| 2 | "Trip Trap" | Lucy Gannon | Danny Hiller | 9 March 1996 (1996-03-09) |
| Starring Kevin Whately, Stella Gonet, Sue Roderick and Helen Griffin |||||
| 3 | "Killing Me Softly" | Rebecca Frayn | Stephen Whittaker | 7 July 1996 (1996-07-07) |
| Starring Maggie O'Neill, Peter Howitt, Julian Kerridge and Annabelle Apsion |||||
| 4 | "Truth or Dare" | TBA | John Madden | 31 August 1996 (1996-08-31) |
| Starring John Hannah, Helen Baxendale, Susan Lynch, Ben Daniels, John Fraser and John Michie |||||
| 5 | "Gobble" | Ian Hislop & Nick Newman | Jimmy Mulville | 15 February 1997 (1997-02-15) |
| Starring Kevin Whately, Keith Barron, Jack Dee and Peter Egan |||||
| 6 | "Deacon Brodie" | Simon Donald | Philip Saville | 8 March 1997 (1997-03-08) |
| Starring Billy Connolly, Patrick Malahide, Catherine McCormack, Lorcan Cranitch and Siobhan Redmond |||||
| 7 | "Hostile Waters" | Troy Kennedy-Martin | David Drury | 26 July 1997 (1997-07-26) |
| Starring Rutger Hauer, Martin Sheen, Max Von Sydow, Colm Feore and Michael Attwell Released on VHS in 1998 |||||
| 8 | "Our Boy" | Tony Grounds | David Evans | 15 February 1998 (1998-02-15) |
| Starring Ray Winstone, Pauline Quirke, Neil Dudgeon and Philip Jackson |||||