Play for Today

Oct 11, 1979 · 1h 15m

A fanatical Elvis Presley fan is working as a disc jockey when his idol dies

Oct 18, 1979 · 1h 15m

A watchmaker finds his livelihood is threatened by cheaply imported digital watches.

Oct 25, 1979 · 1h 15m

Budding comedians take an evening class taught by a retired performer and, for their final exam, must perform for an impresario in a nightclub.

Nov 1, 1979 · 1h 15m

Stephen Piper is a quiet young man. A virgin, he shows no interest in sex, and is cruelly scorned by an aggressive female neighbour when he rebuffs her advances. He lives with his mother, an overbearing woman who mocks him for being wet. But Stephen has a secret. An accurate and heartfelt depiction of the challenges he faces and a fascinating glimpse at the gender politics of the day.

Nov 8, 1979 · 1h 15m

In Glasgow, a young man's sole aim is to be as tough as his dying grandfather once was

Nov 15, 1979 · 1h 15m

A 4-year-old boy is abused by his father

Nov 29, 1979 · 1h 15m

Exploration of the events leading up to 1975 Spaghetti House siege in London and the motivation of its three protagonists, T-Bone Wilson, Archie Pool, and Trevor Thomas.

Dec 6, 1979 · 1h 15m

The story of a young man who works in a carpet factory

Dec 13, 1979 · 1h 15m

A teenage girl from a family of Irish Travellers is left to look after her brothers and sisters while her father is away.

Dec 20, 1979 · 1h 15m

What do Rose from Devon and Christina from Stuttgart have in common? And in what way is their fate linked to that of wealthy Fiona Dunkerley?

Jan 3, 1980 · 1h 15m

A young man quits school and joins the army.

Jan 10, 1980 · 1h 15m

Family picnics should not be like this: bugging devices, men with X-ray eyes. Mary doesn't understand what terrifies Simon, nor the bizarre events of the next six months.

Jan 17, 1980 · 1h 15m

A journalist moves to London and gets caught up in the big city and his romance with a rich debutante.

Jan 24, 1980 · 1h 15m

Various characters have adventures on the way to a black pudding festival in Normandy.

Jan 31, 1980 · 1h 15m

An Englishman's home is his castle, and Wally aims to prove it.

Feb 7, 1980 · 1h 15m

Weekend enlightenment seminars serve as a form of brainwashing.

Feb 14, 1980 · 1h 15m

Mr. Germanou arrives from Cyprus with his family to settle in England. But on his arrival he's arrested for an historical rape with seemingly no defence.

Feb 21, 1980 · 1h 15m

Twenty years ago, at the age of 56, this extraordinary woman became a national hero by walking from John O'Groats to Land's End. One of the last great English eccentrics (even though she was Russian) in the last days of English innocence.

Feb 28, 1980 · 1h 15m

The marital and career problems of a middle-aged, middle-class man in Glasgow in the 1960s

Mar 6, 1980 · 1h 15m

A compassionate elderly woman comes to the realization that she can no longer care for herself or others.

Mar 13, 1980 · 1h 15m

A story about the regulation of the bus industry in 1930

Mar 20, 1980 · 1h 15m

The problems of an 11-year-old boy living in the Catholic part of Londonderry

Mar 27, 1980 · 1h 15m

The A Shift at the MHS department store are organising a wedding gift presentation for Elaine. But what's on Miriam's mind, and why does she seem so out of sorts?

Apr 3, 1980 · 1h 15m

A story about the highs and lows of peacetime army life

Apr 10, 1980 · 1h 15m

"I dunno, years of putting up with it, waiting on you all, for what? Eh? To become a 14-stone invisible woman?"

Apr 17, 1980 · 1h 15m

Jan and Meg Citron are on holiday in Germany. Their car is stopped by the police. A simple traffic offence? But their seemingly innocent past is ripped open and life will never be the same again.

Apr 24, 1980 · 1h 15m

During World War II, an idealistic young woman joins the Army Transport Service

May 14, 1980 · 1h 15m

A writer gets involved with a Soviet dissident