If you have a job, friends, a family, kids, a dog or – say – an audition to prepare for, it can be hard to find the time to watch all the great TV drama that regularly competes for our tired eyeballs’ attention. Brilliant shows with amazing performances are bound to fall through the net, right?
Wrong! Stop being defeatist: here are 10 great British TV performances you should watch without delay…
Happy Valley (BBC, now on Netflix)
If you want a masterclass in building a truly rounded character, look no further than Sarah Lancashire’s BAFTA-winning performance in both series of this brilliant drama. She plays Sergeant Catherine Cawood, northern copper, grieving mother and doting grandmother. Cawood is just about holding it together when the man she holds responsible for her daughter’s death comes back into her life. Tragedy, violence and brutality all set against a bleak Yorkshire backdrop. Not for the faint-hearted.
Sherlock (BBC, now on Netflix)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Benedict Cumberbatch is good; yes, he reinvented the classic role for the 21st century and looks like a handsome otter at the same time, but for us, it’s Andrew Scott as the villainous Moriarty who really steals the show. Charming, iniquitous and more than a match for the world’s most famous “consulting detective,” Scott’s is the performance to watch – but Ben isn’t bad either.
Broadchurch (ITV, now on YouTube)
Back in 2013, this fabulous whodunnit set on the Jurassic Coast gripped the nation in a way not often seen in our on-demand times. The investigation into the murder of 11-year-old Danny Latimer proved essential viewing, as did the lead performances of Olivia Coleman and David Tennant as the mismatched detective duo leading the investigation. National Treasure Coleman – soon to be seen as the new incarnation of one Queen in The Crown and another in The Favourite – is particularly brilliant as DC Ellie Miller, and watch out, too, for new Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker as Danny’s grief-stricken mother.
Pride and Prejudice (BBC, now on Netflix)
You’ve seen him regally stutter his way to an Oscar in The King’s Speech, but if you want to see Colin Firth in his prime, and we mean PRIME, then you’ve got to watch the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Firth embodies Mr Darcy in all his sexy arrogance and screenwriter Andrew Davies’ addition of an oh-so-masculine dive into a lake was nothing short of inspired. We think Ms Austen would be proud.
Line of Duty (BBC, now on Netflix)
Before the ratings juggernaut that was this year’s Bodyguard, writer Jed Mercurio was best-known as the creator of police drama Line of Duty. Throughout its four series, a dogged trio of anti-corruption officers (Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar) have investigated a shadowy criminal network while rooting out bent coppers one bad apple at a time.
Each season focuses on one case, giving great actors like Thandie Newton, Keeley Hawes and Lennie James the opportunity to inhabit characters who may not be all that they seem. Series 5 is set for early 2019 so you’ve got a couple of months to get up to date with this star-filled ensemble drama. Brilliant.
Him & Her (BBC, now on Netflix)
He’s a slob. She’s a slob. Together they are two slobs very much in love. Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani are totally believable as a young couple whose only motivation seems to be sleeping, eating and sex. Probably in that order.
Plugged as a sitcom, Him & Her is actually something more. Yes, it’s funny, but it’s also beautifully-observed, and those two central performances are warm and authentic you end up excusing them anything. Add to that the brilliant comic supporting cast, and this is one to binge on… in bed during the middle of the day while eating takeaway.
Mum (BBC, now on Amazon)
Created by Stefan Golaszewski, the same writer behind Him & Her, this is a beautiful comic drama about recently widowed Cathy, played by the incomparable Lesley Manville. She’s the Mum of the title, the steady stoic who puts up with all the crap and asks for nothing in return. Peter Mullan plays her late husband’s friend who secretly loves her from the sidelines. This is acting at its best – Mum will make you laugh, snort and probably cry, too. It’ll also probably make you phone your Mum – which can only be a good thing, eh?!
Doctor Foster (BBC, S1 now on Netflix)
Obsession, sex, revenge and more sex helped make the first series of this brilliant psychological drama an immediate hit with audiences and critics alike. Central to its success is a BAFTA-winning performance by Suranne Jones as the titular doctor whose perfect life unravels when she starts to suspect her husband isn’t quite as perfect as she’d thought.
Bertie Carvel is fabulously reptilian as her adulterous hubby, and a pre-Killing Eve Jodie Comer shines as his young girlfriend, but this is very much Jones’ show. Her descent into obsession as she plots revenge on all concerned is a sight to behold. Viewers of a delicate disposition should beware though – the climactic dinner party scene definitely proves hell hath no fury like a doctor scorned.
The Missing (BBC, now on Amazon)
James Nesbitt is great as a father whose son disappears while on holiday in a small French town. A brief lapse in concentration leads to the break-up of his marriage and years of guilt and as he tries to find out what happened. He’s helped by local detective Julien Baptiste, played by the equally brilliant Tchéky Karyo – and next year Baptiste will return in his own spin-off series.
Our Friends in the North (BBC, available on DVD)
Before Daniel Craig was 007, before he was even a film star, he was one of the breakouts of the BBC’s mega-hit series of 1996: Our Friends in the North. Spanning three decades of British history and an awful lot of different wigs, this drama followed the lives of four friends – Craig, Mark Strong, Gina McKee and Christopher Eccleston as they navigate the ups and downs of life in the North East. The central quartet is always watchable, even despite a total running time of over 10 hours! Definitely not a quick binge-watch.
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