The best British television of 2024

2024 was a year of confrontation and self-reflection for the British television industry. No fewer than four of the titles on our list represent TV-about-TV: Steven Moffat’s brilliant satire Douglas Is Cancelled (ITV); E4’s refreshing meta-reality show The Underdog: Josh Must Win; Prime Video’s retelling of Emily Maitlis’s fateful interview with Prince Andrew (A Very Royal Scandal); and finally, the indecently entertaining romp through a provincial television company, Rivals (Disney+).

While these shows grow ever-prescient (and almost prophetic given recent broadcasting news), they are far from the only programmes concerned with corruption and speaking truth to power. Defiance: Fighting the Far Right (Channel 4) is essential viewing in a year of civil unrest, and Kevin Macdonald’s intimate portrait of Vitali Klitschko is a revealing lens to the wider political context in Ukraine (Klitschko: More than a Fight, Sky). Smart crime dramas such as Criminal Record and Ellis dissected institutional racism, and it was right at the beginning of the year when ITV made a deserved folk hero of Alan Bates with real-life consequences for the Post Office.

– Elinor Groom

Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd’s stark account of his experience with a stalker, started life as a darkly comedic one-man theatre show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. So far, so Fleabag, but watching Baby Reindeer it becomes immediately clear that this story is altogether more raw, brutal and deeply personal, reminiscent of Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You (2020).

Gadd stars as a fictional version of himself, pseudonymised as Donny, a barman moonlighting on the comedy circuit. When a seemingly harmless pub regular called Martha (Jessica Gunning) starts to develop feelings for Donny, her crush quickly escalates to daily harassment and later assault. While this is Gadd’s story, Gunning gives the performance of a lifetime, finding the unspoken throughlines of Martha’s contradictory behaviours, by turns sympathetic and terrifying. When her actions start to affect other people in his life, Donny is forced to confront the trauma that came before Martha, in a devastating episode that is testament to both Gadd’s fragility and his courage.

– Elinor Groom

You would be forgiven for having missed Criminal Record, hidden under a nondescript title all the way back in January. But this atmospheric, insightful and bracing crime drama is well worth your time. DS June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) investigates an anonymous emergency caller who claims her abusive boyfriend is responsible for a murder that someone else is doing time for. Lenker defies the advice of higher ups and confronts the veteran detective of the prior murder case, DCI Daniel Hegarty (Peter Capaldi).

Do not think that this is the set-up for a generic chalk-and-cheese detective duo; Criminal Record is a sharp dissection of institutional corruption, and the two leads are resolute in their mutual distrust. Capaldi is electric as the caustic Hegarty, whose moral fibre has been corroded by decades of unchecked power. Jumbo is equally terrific, deftly balancing Lenker’s idealism and cynicism, as she navigates a daily barrage of microaggressions at work and at home.

– Elinor Groom

“The myth of the passive, timid Asian was about to be smashed”, declares founder member of the Southall Youth Movement, Balraj Purewal, in the opening of Defiance: Fighting the Far Right. Many young men living in Southall shared his belief that it was time to take action, following the murder of two local Asian men, Gurdip Chaggar and Altab Ali, by white youths in 1976 and 1978, and the widespread lack of protection from the police.

Balraj and other activists and residents are eloquent interviewees, and their potent stories build up a vivid sense of their daily lives at home, work and play, as well as in the wider community. Their recollections are intercut with powerful archive footage which memorably features their younger selves, resplendent in 1970s fashions and flowing hairstyles. It’s a vital programme that missed out on a peak transmission.

– Ros Cranston

Douglas Bellowes is a national treasure with 35 years of television presenting under his belt, when an inappropriate remark at a wedding sends his life into freefall and puts his career on the line. His co-presenter, the much younger Madeleine, immediately steps in to help him. Or does she?

This mini-series by Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat is the ultimate satire on (social) media obsession, with clever plotting, sharp dialogue and an unnervingly varied tone and pace. Snappy farce gives way in episode 3 to an uncomfortably prolonged reveal, while the final chapter delivers several satisfying twists. Hugh Bonneville is at home in the role of the hapless presenter caught between two devastatingly smart women – his wife (Alex Kingston) and his on-screen sidekick, a strikingly chilling performance by Karen Gillan. At a time when celebrities seem to be constantly falling from grace, this perceptive and entertaining dissection of the working culture of media institutions couldn’t be more apt.

– Josephine Botting

2024 marks the deserved ascendency of Sharon D. Clarke, who has previously commanded attention for supporting roles in Doctor Who and Mr Loverman (see below) and is a recognised star in theatreland. Clarke now takes the eponymous lead in Channel 5’s smart, addictive detective drama Ellis. 

We don’t learn the first name of DCI Ellis, a dedicated and taciturn (and well dressed) ex-Met inspector who is parachuted in to solve complex cases for rural police departments. Along the way she picks up a deputy – hapless but eager DS Chet Harper (Andrew Gower) – and their partnership is entertaining and heartfelt. Ellis bears all the hallmarks of a crowdpleasing TV detective stalwart, but it also transcends the trappings of its genre, particularly in its upfront depiction of the racism and misogyny Ellis encounters from her fellow police detectives. 

– Elinor Groom 

KAOS is a modern-day reimagining of Greek and Roman mythology created by showrunner Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World). The series stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus who chains his fellow god Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) to a cliff as punishment for interfering with his rulership. Prometheus enlists the help of three humans – Eurydice (Aurora Perrineau), Ariadne (Leila Farzad) and Caeneus (Misia Butler) – to overthrow Zeus.

An intelligent and witty script, KAOS is packed with subplots featuring other myths and mythological characters, such as Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) helping Orpheus (Killian Scott) rescue his wife from the underworld, neatly interwoven throughout. Covell’s craftmanship is exceptional in this huge undertaking despite the show’s recent cancellation by the streamer, whose recommission decisions are primarily based on viewership figures in the first 28 days of a show’s launch.

– Chantelle Lavel Boyea

The stakes are high and the participants are heavyweight names. In one corner is the villainous Vladamir Putin and all that he stands for. Opposing him is Vitali Klitschko, Ukraine’s world heavyweight champion boxer and now Mayor of Kyiv – defender of democracy.

Klitschko: More than a Fight is a fascinating film with an equally fascinating central character, born to a devout father. Our champion boxer-turned-politician is now setting himself up for the fight of his life. His commitment to the cause is immoveable, and his ex-wife and children see themselves as victims to his dedication. In Kyiv, Vitali takes to the streets to meet with children who have lost their homes and console families who have lost relatives. He communicates to the world from his tablet and risks his own life to bring supplies to troops on the frontline. With eyes focused on freedom for Kyiv and Ukraine, there is a hint of a surprising rivalry with President Zelenskiy.

– Steven Foxon

Mr Bates vs. the Post Office premiered on ITV on New Year’s Day, and in this round up of the year it remains unquestionably the British television event of 2024. Writer Gwyneth Hughes did an extraordinary job in focusing the drama on Alan Bates (played by Toby Jones), the founder of the campaign against the Post Office by hundreds of wronged sub postmasters and postmistresses, and in selecting a few stories from hundreds of cases to effectively capture decades of injustice in only four episodes. Its effect on public opinion was so electrifying that it prompted the government to rapidly pledge a new law to exonerate victims.

The series has drawn apt historical comparisons with Cathy Come Home (1966) in terms of its impact. It demonstrates how public service broadcasting remains the most accessible and powerful forum for important British stories in what is now a very different era of television.

– Lisa Kerrigan

Mr Loverman is a compelling drama that trails the life of Barry Walker as he navigates a complex marriage with his wife Carmel, all while harbouring a long-carried secret of his lifelong love affair with childhood soulmate Morris. The narrative incorporates flashbacks, weaving between six decades to build up a sympathetic portrayal of its characters.

Featuring stand-out performances from Lennie James, Ariyon Bakare and Sharon D. Clarke, the series resists over-relying on action to drive its narrative, instead incorporating snapshots of family life to move the story forward. Mr Loverman should be particularly celebrated for its attention to detail in the production and costume design. As Lennie James has noted, “nothing is accidental,” with subtle touches such as the colour scheme in one Sunday lunch scene incorporating the Pride colours. Although it exerts an emotional pull, Mr Loverman isn’t without its lighter moments, which help bring this adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo’s novel vibrantly to life. 

– Jade Evans 

As someone who spends a good deal of my professional time working with television from the 1980s, Rivals – which has a tussle over a 1980s ITV regional television franchise at the heart of its power struggle – was always going to be fun for me. But I could not have anticipated the sheer joy of watching this series adapted from Jilly Cooper’s novel, in which a cast of mostly terrible characters have deranged arguments and fall in and out of bed with each other constantly.  

Danny Dyer is a standout among a superb cast performing a high wire act with tonal shifts that veer sharply from comedy to heartbreak. The series doesn’t shy away from the oppressive social and power structures of the 1980s, and a traumatic storyline is sensitively handled amid the glamour and bombast. While current television seems dominated by crime dramas and post-apocalyptic stories, this sexy, silly series is an absolute thrill. 

– Lisa Kerrigan 

It’s not often a reality game show makes it on our end of year list, but Channel 4’s Josh Must Win is no underdog. Winning the hearts of the nation with its unique format, the show was the millionth title to be ingested at the BFI National Archive from our off-air recordings – an activity we’ve been doing since 1985. Contestants, made up of influencers, move into a house believing they are on a show called ‘The Favourite’. They must compete for a chance to win £10,000 by being voted the most popular housemate. Hidden to all the contestants (who are your typical reality TV types) and to Josh Foulds (an unassuming, quirky professional wrestler), the real game show is all about him. 

Host Nick Grimshaw and a panel of celebrity pals (Pete Wicks from The Only Way Is Essex, Vicky Pattison from Geordie Shore, and Love Island winner Amber Rose Gill) secretly try to steer challenges so that Josh – the unlikely contender – gets to the top of the social hierarchy. If he is crowned the most popular, the housemates will share a prize pot of £100,000. Reminiscent of early Big Brother, Josh Must Win is a creative and refreshing take on the social experiment format of television, where everyone roots for the underdog to win.

– Chantelle Lavel Boyea

The BBC’s 2019 Newsnight Special interview between Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew was a landmark moment in TV history, so groundbreaking as to be adapted as a TV drama twice this year. Backed by Maitlis herself (who is credited as exec producer and writer on some episodes), Prime Video’s A Very Royal Scandal is more nuanced and factual than the Netflix feature Scoop. Ruth Wilson, who plays Maitlis, borrowed the presenter’s own handbag and military-style jacket to fully inhabit the role. 

Told in three parts, the series allows for more drama-fuelled tensions leading up to the interview, with added personal touches such as Maitlis’s struggle dealing with her stalker and internal criticism. A powerful peek behind the scenes of broadcast journalism, A Very Royal Scandal is triumphant in lifting the lid on one of the biggest recent scandals of the royal family. It commandingly dramatises Prince Andrew’s (Michael Sheen) car-crash attempt to clear his name of allegations made against him by Virginia Giuffre, and his affiliation with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

– Chantelle Lavel Boyea