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Categories: Drama: Classic & Period

  1. Ben-Hur

    Condemned to slavery, a prince returns to confront the Romans.

    BBC Two

  2. Papa Panov's Special Day

    Everybody loves the kind shoemaker, Papa Panov. But will he be alone this Christmas?

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  3. Christmas at Dingley Dell by Charles Dickens

    1827. Mr Pickwick sets out to spend Christmas at Dingley Dell.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  4. The Snowstorm by Alexander Pushkin

    Winter 1811. Napoleon's army threatens a couple's plan to marry.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  5. Lady Susan by Jane Austen (Omnibus)

    The unscrupulous Lady Susan Vernon is determined to scheme her way through high society.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

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  6. Rosalie

    France,1870. Rosalie, a bearded lady, marries and decides to reveal her true self.

    BBC Four

  7. Mrs Robinson by Helen Cross

    At the height of a TB epidemic, Mrs Robinson meets dissolute poet Branwell Brontë.

    BBC Radio 4

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  8. King & Conqueror

    A clash that defined the future of a country – and a continent – for a thousand years.

    BBC One

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  9. Robin Hood

    A dying knight’s request takes crusader Robin Longstride from France to Nottingham.

    BBC One

  10. Spartacus

    76 BC. Born into slavery, a gladiator leads a slave revolt against the Roman Empire.

    BBC Two

  11. Towards Zero

    Murder strikes at a coastal estate, where a volatile mix of guests have gathered.

    BBC One

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  12. Dope Girls

    Soho, 1918 - London's decadent clubland comes alive.

    BBC One

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  13. Miss Austen

    Will Cassandra send her sister Jane's legacy up in flames?

    BBC One

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  14. Sense and Sensibility

    Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are thrown into sudden hardship on the death of their father.

    BBC Two England

  15. Sister Boniface Mysteries

    The police's secret weapon in fighting crime – new force of habit, Sister Boniface.

    BBC One

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  16. Nineteen Eighty-Four

    Special readings from Orwell's dystopian classic, now celebrating its 75th anniversary.

    BBC Radio 4

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  17. Under Milk Woods

    For the 70th anniversary of Under Milk Wood, five short drama portraits of Wales in 2024.

    BBC Radio 3

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  18. Murder Is Easy

    One death is a tragedy – are four deaths a crime?

    BBC One

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  19. Hamlet from Bristol Old Vic

    Billy Howle stars in a bold stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.

    BBC Four

  20. Richard III

    Richard conspires to seize the throne of England, orchestrating a bloody rise to power.

    BBC Two

  21. The Gallows Pole

    David Hartley assembles a gang to bring comfort and dignity back to his community.

    BBC Two

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  22. Ten Pound Poms

    You can make your own world when you leave the past behind.

    BBC One

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  23. Moths

    Lady Dolly Vanderdecken is horrified when her daughter arrives for the season.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  24. Marie Antoinette

    The tumultuous early years of the Austrian princess who became the queen of France.

    BBC Two

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  25. A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story

    Mark Gatiss's fantastic theatrical production of Dickens’s classic winter ghost story.

    BBC Four

  26. The English

    Two strangers are drawn together in a violent landscape built on dreams and blood.

    BBC Two

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  27. Spotlight

    Take a deep dive into long-form drama from Radio 4.

    BBC Radio 4

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  28. Life After Life

    The story of Ursula Todd, who has an infinite number of chances to live her life.

    BBC Two

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  29. Harriet O'Carroll - Minuet

    A young Jane Austen falls in love fuelling her desire to become a writer.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  30. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

    Sian Thomas reads Virginia Woolf's classic modernist novel, set over one day in 1923.

    BBC Radio 4

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  31. Dangerous Liaisons

    Tanya Moodie, Nicola Coughlan and Ray Fearon star in this scandalously funny classic romp.

    BBC Radio 4

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  32. Animal Farm by George Orwell

    The landmark allegory about hypocrisy and corruption of power.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  33. Pride and Prejudice

    The Bennet daughters react in very different ways to the arrival of their new neighbour.

    BBC Two

  34. Tea with Mussolini

    Florence 1935. Luca, part-raised by English ladies in Florence, re-enters their lives.

    BBC Two

  35. A Suitable Boy

    In 1951, in newly independent India, student Lata is torn between family duty and romance.

    BBC One

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  36. The Pale Horse

    When a young woman is murdered, a mysterious list of names is discovered.

    BBC One

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  37. Gentleman Jack

    Anne Lister determines to restore the fortunes of Shibden Hall and find herself a wife.

    BBC One

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  38. Jane Eyre

    Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles star in an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel.

    BBC Two

  39. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

    Rachel Joyce adapts Anne Bronte's debut novel about self-discovery and the search for love

    BBC Radio 4

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  40. Shakespeare: Lord of Misrule

    Jerry Brotton looks back at the power of Shakespearian mischief.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

  41. To Walk Invisible

    The story of the Bronte sisters, who overcame a life of hardship to become great writers.

    BBC One

  42. The Witness for the Prosecution

    Thrilling two-part drama about a man accused of killing his lover.

    BBC One

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  43. Rillington Place

    Three-part drama series based on the true story of serial killer John Christie.

    BBC One

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  44. Blood and Milk by Gregory Evans

    By Gregory Evans. Thriller set in 1890s Whitechapel.

    BBC Radio 4 Extra

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  45. A Midsummer Night's Dream

    Classic Shakespeare play adapted for television by Russell T Davies.

    BBC One

  46. War and Peace

    Leo Tolstoy's epic story of life, love and loss in nineteenth-century Russia.

    BBC One

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  47. And Then There Were None

    Period murder mystery based on Agatha Christie's novel.

    BBC One

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  48. Dickensian

    Drama set within the fictional realms of Charles Dickens's critically acclaimed novels.

    BBC One

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  49. Partners in Crime

    1950s spy drama, adapted from Agatha Christie's classic books.

    BBC One

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  50. Wolf Hall

    Acclaimed adaptation of Hilary Mantel's tales from the dark heart of Tudor history.

    BBC One

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