A Legendary Television Format Returns
In a surprising move that bridges television generations, Channel 5 is resurrecting the legendary Play for Today brand with four brand new dramas set to premiere in November 2024. This revival marks the return of a format that originally defined BBC One's drama output between 1970 and 1984, producing classics like Abigail's Party and The Black Stuff.
Modern Takes on Classic Themes
The new quartet of plays consciously echoes themes from the original series while updating them for contemporary audiences. Big Winners, written by Martha Watson Allpress, explores a couple transformed into multimillionaires by the national lottery, mirroring Jack Rosenthal's Bafta-winning 1977 Play for Today Spend, Spend, Spend about pools winners.
Opening the season on 13 November is Never Too Late, featuring Anita Dobson as a widow experiencing flirtation in a retirement home. This continues the tradition of exploring mature relationships, much like Colin Welland's 1973 drama Kisses at Fifty.
Alan Davies stars in A Knock at the Door as a national treasure confronted by an accusatory young man, creating tension reminiscent of Barrie Keeffe's 1977 psychological drama Gotcha. Meanwhile, Special Measures by Lee Thompson follows a teacher navigating extreme pressures during an Ofsted inspection, continuing the education themes explored in John Challen's 1974 drama Headmaster.
Evolution of a Television Institution
The original Play for Today was remarkable for its scale and ambition, producing over 300 single dramas across 14 years during an era when British television operated with considerable artistic freedom. The strand launched careers of writers like David Hare and Stephen Poliakoff while also attracting established talents including Dennis Potter and Alan Plater.
Under director of programming Ben Frow, Channel 5 has developed a strategy of reviving classic formats to court older audiences potentially neglected by other terrestrial channels. Previous successes include All Creatures Great and Small and Dalgliesh.
However, the new iteration differs significantly in its political stance. The original series was famously ideological, with rightwing critics dubbing it "Plays for Trotskyists" due to explicitly socialist dramas like Jim Allen's The Spongers (1978). The new plays focus more on middle-class concerns and maintain an essentially apolitical stance, reflecting broader cultural shifts in television drama.
Another notable change is gender representation among writers. Two of the four new plays feature female writers, contrasting with the male-dominated writing credits of the original series, though women like Paula Milne and Julia Jones made significant contributions when opportunities arose.
Future Potential and Television Legacy
Several of the new dramas appear designed with series potential in mind. Never Too Late concludes with a plot twist that could easily seed a six-part comedy-drama, while Big Winners and Special Measures also contain elements that could support longer narratives.
This approach contrasts with the original Play for Today's commitment to single dramas, though that strand did produce several works that evolved into series, including Rumpole of the Bailey (which ran for seven seasons on ITV) and Alan Bleasdale's The Black Stuff, which spawned the acclaimed series Boys from the Blackstuff.
The revival represents a bold move in contemporary television landscape dominated by streaming services preferring "long content" to sustain subscriptions. The four new plays stand as a testament to the enduring power of the single drama format, even as they potentially lay groundwork for future series developments.
With strong performances from established talents and compelling premises that update classic themes for modern Britain, Channel 5's Play for Today revival represents both a nostalgic look backward and a confident step forward for British television drama.
