A 100th anniversary is a milestone in the history of any institution. In the case of the BBC, the centenary of its founding on 18 October 1922 triggers a rush of memories, a landslide of couch-bound nostalgia. But whether it’s Doctor Who’s Dalek battles, David Attenborough striking up a bromance with a family of gorillas, or Line of Duty’s Ted Hastings invoking “Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey”, the sweep of the corporation’s output across the past century is impossible to condense into a few paragraphs. Still, we’ve tried to pull together some of the most iconic shows of those 10 decades, from drama and documentary to comedy via arts, music and science fiction. All are iconic in their own right. Together they are a portrait of a time, a country, and a belief in broadcasting as a force for good in the world.
20. Line of Duty (2012 – 2021)
Mother of God, what a tangled tale Jed Mercurio wove with his multi-season tale of bent coppers and the few good men and women trying to take them down. Ted Hastings stands tall among the most quotable TV characters of the past decade, while the interrogation scenes – all those white walls and impressive tables – have become ripe for parody. In later seasons, the series tended to trip up on its cleverness – as well as feeling increasingly detached from the real world. But in its early years, LoD was a thriller like no other.
19. Blackadder (1983 – 1989)
At least 50 per cent of our shared recollection of the First World War is drawn from the final five minutes of Blackadder Goes Forth. Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie and companions go over the top – and the camera cuts to modern-day Flanders and poppies in the breeze. But long before the heartache, Richard Curtis’s historical comedy had mercilessly yanked our funny bones with his hilarious visits to Regency, Elizabethan and Medieval England.
18. The Thick of It (2005 – 2012)
“As useful as a marzipan dildo”, “omnishambles”, “You’re like that coffee machine, you know: from bean to cup, you f*** up” – for its insults alone, Armando Iannucci’s fly-on-the-wall political comedy deserves all the prizes. Plus it gave the world Malcolm Tucker, the avenging angel spin doctor. Alas, British politics is now so ludicrous that The Thick of It has retroactively lost much of its bite. What’s the point of satire in the age of Partygate?
17. Strictly Come Dancing (2004 – present)
Until Strictly, reality TV was largely cruel and punishing. Would-be stars had their hearts broken, celebrities were humiliated and gaslit. Then Strictly came along with the radical idea of feel-good reality TV, in which A-listers set themselves an interesting new challenge while we at home cheered along. How groundbreaking and how enduring.
16. The Good Life (1975 – 1978)
This gently downbeat comedy about striving middle-class suburbanites – played by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal – gazed deep into the British soul and smiled sadly at what it saw there. There would be louder, more lurid comedies – in the 1970s, especially. But few series would so effectively take the temperature of a slightly fed-up nation adrift in a post-imperial malaise.
15. Blue Peter (1958 – present)
Youthful presenters in sensible sweaters. Arts and crafts featuring paper, scissors and enough Sellotape to wrap the Statue of Liberty twice over. Song-and-dance numbers where nobody could sing and no one could be bothered to dance. Kids’ TV peaked with Blue Peter and would never rise to such heights again – with the possible exception of Tom Hardy doing the Bedtime Story on CBeebies.
14. Neverwhere (1996)
Netflix’s Sandman has everyone in a swoon – but for Neil Gaiman connoisseurs it was in Neverwhere that he created his lasting work for the small screen. Set in a Narnia-style parallel-universe London, where Puss in Boots is real and Knightsbridge is guarded by actual knights, it found magic in the everyday. Neverwhere also retains a lasting weirdness due to the baffling decision to film on video rather than film. And so, while “only” 26 years old, it feels far more ancient – like a relic from a creepy analogue era that was ending even as it was broadcast in the Summer of Britpop.
Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in ‘Killing Eve’
13. The Morecambe and Wise Show (1968 – 1977)
Eric, Ernie, a female guest star whose job was to stand there and smile. And groaners you could see coming a mile off. Welcome to the 1970s. But though products of their age, there was a sweetness to Morecambe and Wise that will never go out of fashion. And that affection made for surprisingly ribald comedy. Which is why they are remembered when many of the duos of that era have fallen away – or simply aged terribly.
12. Peaky Blinders (2013 – 2022)
It’s an elevator pitch that might have you reaching for the emergency stop. Cillian Murphy in a 1920s flat cap, on a horse, while Nick Cave strikes up “Red Right Hand”. Yet from these obscure ingredients, Steven Knight wrought a Birmingham gangster saga that crackled with Tarantino-esque energy (even if the finale was rather pants).
Cillian Murphy in ‘Peaky Blinders’
Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘Sherlock’
