# BFI TV 100

The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any genre that had been screened up to that time.

## Selection and criteria

The British Film Institute television programme poll was conducted in the year 2000, and its results are reflected in the list that appears in a following section. Initially, a 'big list' of 650 programmes was drawn up by BFI personnel. Television programmes no longer extant in the archives were excluded from consideration. The provisional list was split into six categories: Single Dramas, Drama Series and Serials, Comedy and Variety, Factual, Children's/Youth, and Lifestyle & Light Entertainment. Some programmes were represented in the list by an entire series; however, for some series—e.g., the anthology The Wednesday Play and the current affairs programme This Week—individual episodes were listed. News stories were mostly excluded, with exceptions such as the coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (on the basis that it would be impossible to determine whether it was the coverage or the news itself that made them important). Sport was excluded for similar reasons, and also because many events such as the 1966 World Cup, while important to those in England, would not necessarily matter to those in other areas of the UK.
The provisional list of 650 was then distributed to 1,600 television industry professionals in the UK, who were each given 30 votes. Each voter was required to cast a minimum of three votes in every category. The judges were also asked to name their top overseas programme (where the U.S. sitcom Frasier was chosen).

## List

The following are the results of the poll, as reported by the BFI and other sources. Because the list reports decisions made in the year 2000, programmes and series are presented as they were perceived in that year; as such, ones not yet having concluded by the year 2000 are presented as having an open-ended date span in the "Year(s)" column, even if they have subsequently ended. The Genre column, added to the original table, may have a lot of crossover genres and is intended as guide to the "main" genre of each programme.
| No. | Title | Broadcast on | Year(s) | Genre |
| 1 | Fawlty Towers | BBC2 | 1975–1979 | Comedy and Variety |
| 2 | "Cathy Come Home" (The Wednesday Play) | BBC1 | 1966 | Single Dramas |
| 3 | Doctor Who | BBC1 | 1963–1989, 1996 | Children's/Youth |
| 4 | The Naked Civil Servant | ITV (Thames Television) | 1975 | Single Dramas |
| 5 | Monty Python's Flying Circus | BBC1 / BBC2 | 1969–1974 | Comedy and Variety |
| 6 | Blue Peter | BBC1 | 1958– | Children's/Youth |
| 7 | Boys from the Blackstuff | BBC2 | 1982 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 8 | Parkinson | BBC1 | 1971–1982, 1987–1988, 1998– | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 9 | Yes Minister / Yes, Prime Minister | BBC2 | 1980–1988 | Comedy and Variety |
| 10 | Brideshead Revisited | ITV (Granada) | 1981 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 11 | Abigail's Party (Play for Today) | BBC1 | 1977 | Single Dramas |
| 12 | I, Claudius | BBC2 | 1976 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 13 | Dad's Army | BBC1 | 1968–1977 | Comedy and Variety |
| 14 | The Morecambe & Wise Show | BBC2 / BBC1 / ITV (Thames) | 1961–1983 | Comedy and Variety |
| 15 | Edge of Darkness | BBC2 | 1985 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 16 | Blackadder Goes Forth | BBC1 | 1989 | Comedy and Variety |
| 17 | Absolutely Fabulous | BBC2 / BBC1 | 1992–1996 | Comedy and Variety |
| 18 | The Wrong Trousers | BBC2 | 1993 | Children's/Youth |
| 19 | The World at War | ITV (Thames) | 1973–1974 | Factual |
| 20 | The Singing Detective | BBC1 | 1986 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 21 | Pennies from Heaven | BBC1 | 1978 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 22 | The Jewel in the Crown | ITV (Granada) | 1984 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 23 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | ITV | 1998– | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 24 | Hancock's Half Hour | BBC | 1956–1961 | Comedy and Variety |
| 25 | Our Friends in the North | BBC2 | 1996 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 26 | 28 Up | ITV (Granada) | 1985 | Factual |
| 27 | The War Game | BBC1 | 1965 | Single Dramas |
| 28 | The Magic Roundabout | BBC1 | 1965–1977 | Children's/Youth |
| 29 | That Was the Week That Was | BBC | 1962–1963 | Comedy and Variety |
| 30 | An Englishman Abroad | BBC1 | 1983 | Single Dramas |
| 31 | The Royle Family | BBC2/BBC1 | 1998– | Comedy and Variety |
| 32 | Life on Earth | BBC2 | 1979 | Factual |
| 33 | The Old Grey Whistle Test | BBC2 | 1971–1987 | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 34 | University Challenge | ITV (Granada) / BBC2 | 1961–1987, 1994– | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 35 | Porridge | BBC1 | 1974–1977 | Comedy and Variety |
| 36 | "Blue Remembered Hills" (Play for Today) | BBC1 | 1979 | Single Dramas |
| 37 | Mastermind (original format) | BBC1 / BBC2 | 1972–1997 | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 38 | I'm Alan Partridge | BBC2 | 1997 | Comedy and Variety |
| 39 | Cracker | ITV (Granada) | 1993–1996 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 40 | Coronation Street | ITV (Granada) | 1960– | Drama Series and Serials |
| 41 | Top of the Pops | BBC1 / BBC2 | 1964–2006 | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 42 | Inspector Morse | ITV (Central) | 1987–2000 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 43 | Grange Hill | BBC1 | 1978–2008 | Children's/Youth |
| 44 | Steptoe and Son | BBC1 | 1962–1965, 1970–1974 | Comedy and Variety |
| 45 | Only Fools and Horses | BBC1 | 1981–1996 | Comedy and Variety |
| 46 | Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (series 1) | ITV (Central) | 1983 | Comedy and Variety |
| 47 | Tiswas | ITV (ATV) | 1974–1982 | Children's/Youth |
| 48 | Elgar | BBC | 1962 | Single Dramas |
| 49 | "Nuts in May" (Play for Today) | BBC1 | 1976 | Single Dramas |
| 50 | Father Ted | Channel 4 | 1995–1998 | Comedy and Variety |
| 51 | The Avengers | ITV (ABC) | 1961–1969 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 52 | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | BBC2 | 1979 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 53 | The Forsyte Saga | BBC2 | 1967 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 54 | Hillsborough | ITV (Granada) | 1996 | Single Dramas |
| 55 | Dennis Potter: The Last Interview (Without Walls Special) | Channel 4 | 1994 | Factual |
| 56 | Bar Mitzvah Boy (Play for Today) | BBC1 | 1976 | Single Dramas |
| 57 | "Edna, the Inebriate Woman" (Play for Today) | BBC1 | 1971 | Single Dramas |
| 58 | Live Aid | BBC1 / BBC2 | 1985 | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 59 | World In Action | ITV (Granada) | 1963–1998 | Factual |
| 60 | Thunderbirds | ITV (ATV) | 1965–1966 | Children's/Youth |
| 61 | Talking Heads / Talking Heads 2 | BBC1 / BBC2 | 1988 / 1998 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 62 | Ready Steady Go! | ITV (Rediffusion) | 1963–1966 | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 63 | Z-Cars | BBC1 | 1962–1978 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 64 | Culloden | BBC1 | 1964 | Single Dramas |
| 65 | The Ascent of Man | BBC2 | 1973 | Factual |
| 66 | A Very British Coup | Channel 4 | 1988 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 67 | Civilisation | BBC2 | 1969 | Factual |
| 68 | Prime Suspect | ITV (Granada) | 1991–2006 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 69 | The Likely Lads / Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? | BBC2 / BBC1 | 1964–1966 / 1973–1974 | Comedy and Variety |
| 70 | Have I Got News for You | BBC2 / BBC1 | 1990– | Comedy and Variety |
| 71 | The Snowman | Channel 4 | 1982 | Children's/Youth |
| 72 | Walking with Dinosaurs | BBC1 | 1999 | Factual |
| 73 | Nineteen Eighty-Four | BBC | 1954 | Single Dramas |
| 74 | The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin | BBC1 | 1976–1979 | Comedy and Variety |
| 75 | Quatermass and the Pit | BBC | 1958–1959 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 76 | Between the Lines | BBC1 | 1992–1994 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 77 | Blind Date | ITV (LWT) | 1985– | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 78 | Talking to a Stranger (Theatre 625) | BBC2 | 1966 | Single Dramas |
| 79 | The Borrowers | BBC1 | 1992–1993 | Children's/Youth |
| 80 | One Foot in the Grave | BBC1 | 1990–2000 | Comedy and Variety |
| 81 | Later... with Jools Holland | BBC2 | 1992– | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 82 | Tutti Frutti | BBC2 | 1987 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 83 | The Knowledge | ITV (Thames) | 1979 | Single Dramas |
| 84 | House of Cards | BBC1 | 1990 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 85 | This Is Your Life | BBC1 / ITV (Thames) | 1955–1964, 1969– | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 86 | The Tube | Channel 4 | 1982–1987 | Lifestyle & Light Entertainment |
| 87 | The Death of Yugoslavia | BBC2 | 1995 | Factual |
| 88 | Till Death Us Do Part | BBC1 | 1966–1975 | Comedy and Variety |
| 89 | A Very Peculiar Practice | BBC1 | 1986–1992 | Comedy and Variety |
| 90 | TV Nation | BBC2 | 1995 | Factual |
| 91 | This Life | BBC2 | 1996–1997 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 92 | "Death on the Rock" (This Week) | ITV (Thames) | 1988 | Factual |
| 93 | The Nazis: A Warning from History | BBC2 | 1997 | Factual |
| 94 | Drop the Dead Donkey | Channel 4 | 1990–1998 | Comedy and Variety |
| 95 | Arena | BBC2 | 1975– | Factual |
| 96 | The Railway Children | BBC1 | 1968 | Children's/Youth |
| 97 | Teletubbies | BBC2 | 1997– | Children's/Youth |
| 98 | Spitting Image | ITV (Central) | 1984–1996 | Comedy and Variety |
| 99 | Pride and Prejudice | BBC1 | 1995 | Drama Series and Serials |
| 100 | Made in Britain | ITV (Central) | 1982 | Single Dramas |
BBC led broadcasters in terms of numbers of programmes/series produced, with 70. Granada Television was the second most represented with 7, and Thames Television and Channel 4 tied for third with 6 each. Central produced four of the listed titles, while ATV produced two, and London Weekend Television, ABC Weekend TV and Associated-Rediffusion produced one each.