25 Top Series To Watch On iPlayer

Thirteen

After 13 years held captive by her kidnapper, Ivy Moxam (played by a then-unknown Jodie Comer) escapes. Piecing back together the version of family life that existed before is no easy task. And things get further complicated when the police find that she is hiding certain secrets.

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Absolutely Fabulous – Series 1-5

Those after some truly vintage re-watches can now catch up with all things Patsy and Eddy as all five series of Ab Fab have landed on iPlayer. Based on the French and Saunders sketch ‘Modern Mother and Daughter, created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, the 1992 show was created and written by Saunders, who also stars as the neurotic alcoholic Eddy. Elsewhere, Joanna Lumley is party animal Patsy and Julia Sawalha plays Eddy’s straight-laced daughter, Saffron.

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Doctor Foster – Series 1-2

Suranne Jones stars as Dr Gemma Foster in this mystery-drama series that leads the protagonist down a dark path. Gemma seems to have the perfect life; she is a trusted GP, has many friends and a settled family – until her husband starts acting suspiciously. But the secrets she uncovers tear her world apart. Gemma's life goes into turmoil as she gets closer to discovering the truth, with her family and patients all suffering as a result of the shocking events that unfold. Also stars Jodie Comer.

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I May Destroy You – Series 1

If you can't remember it, how could you consent? Arabella (Micheala Coel, the show’s writer) is a pink-haired, carefree and self-assured Londoner with a group of great friends and a burgeoning writing career. When we first meet her, she’s meant to be working on the follow-up to her internet-famous memoir, Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial. With a matter of hours left to finish a draft of her second book, she plans to pull an all-nighter. But – easily distracted and fuelled by her second spliff of the evening – she’s soon tempted to join her friend Simon on a night out. After her drink is spiked, she must question and rebuild every element of her life.

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Line of Duty – Series 1-5

Ever since the show hit our screens in 2012, we’ve been fully engrossed in the lives of AC-12 – the fictional anti-corruption police unit who investigate any internal wrong-doings within the force itself. In series one, DS Steve Arnott is transferred to AC-12 after a mistaken shooting during a counter-terrorist operation. Led by Superintendent Hastings, AC-12’s Arnott and newcomer DC Kate Fleming are assigned to lead an investigation into the alleged corruption by a popular and successful officer, DCI Tony Gates. Since then, the trio has investigated numerous dark crimes within the police department – all via some of the best interrogation scenes on TV – but are many of them linked?

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Luther – Series 1-5

Psychological crime drama Luther stars Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan. Luther is a brilliant but troubled detective, who crosses the line between personal and professional as he investigates the darkest crimes in London. But things get tricky when he ends up befriending a psychopath and murderer, whom he could not arrest due to lack of evidence, and they go on to solve various cases together.

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Our Girl – Series 1-4

Our Girl initially starred Lacey Turner as Molly Dawes, a young working-class woman who joins the British Army after deciding her life is going down the drain. No-one thinks she can stick it out, including herself. But slowly and surely, Molly matures and learns to believe in herself – digging in and finding a strength she never thought she had. Turner left her role after the first series, and was replaced by Michelle Keegan as lead character, Lance Corporal Georgie Lane. The fifth and final series began filming just as Covid-19 hit the UK, halting production, but expect it to be shown towards the end of 2020 or in 2021.

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Pride & Prejudice

The BBC has added its award-winning adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Regency romance, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, to iPlayer. The arrival of the wealthy Mr Bingley causes great excitement within the Bennet family. One of her five daughters, Mrs Bennet feels, is sure to capture the heart of the wealthy young aristocrat. Meanwhile the wilful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr Darcy.

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Sherlock – Series 1-4

Set in 2010, Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman) returns from service in Afghanistan and finds himself drawn inexorably into the world of the brilliant but baffling 'consulting detective', Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch). Together they solve impossible crimes with startling twists – and when the truth is revealed, it's never what you expect. Also stars ‘Hot Priest’ Andrew Scott as Sherlock’s arch-rival Moriarty.

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Shrill – Series 1-2

When journalist Annie (Aidy Bryant) realises she’s dating a total loser and being pushed around by her boss, she resolves to stop playing down to society’s expectations of her as a fat woman. With help from her flatmate Fran, she starts being kinder to herself and stops being pushed around so easily. Old habits are hard to break at first but slowly Annie gets better at doing things her way.

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The Split – Series 1-2

The Defoes are a family of sisters working for divorcees. But leading lawyer Hannah (the always brilliant Nicola Walker) finds business is personal when she leaves the Defoe family firm for a rival and finally faces her estranged father, who walked out 30 years ago. Also stars Stephen Mangan, Donna Air and Antony Head.

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This Country – Series 1-3

The cameras focus on cousins Kerry and Kurtan in their very small, very boring Cotswold village. A sleeper hit, this Bafta-winning comedy is the brainchild of brother and sister Charlie and Daisy May Cooper. Featuring an ensemble of misfits and village locals, the mocumentary takes an interest in the lives of the two cousins. Both utterly hilarious and deeply moving, this three-series show ended earlier this year, and is already much missed. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a Christmas special.

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Baptiste – Series 1

Baptiste is a spin-off series from drama The Missing using one of the central characters, Julien Baptiste, played by Tchéky Karyo. In this standalone show, Baptiste delves into the red-light district and uncovers a complex web of deceit and lies. Searching for missing sex worker Natalie Rose, he soon meets Edward, Natalie's uncle, and the two men delve into the criminal underworld of Amsterdam's sex industry.

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Informer – Series 1

Paddy Considine (Peaky Blinders, Tyrannosaur), Bel Powley (The Girl of a Teenage Girl) and newcomer Nabhaan Rizwan star in this BBC1 drama about a young second-generation Pakistani man who goes undercover in London's Counter Terrorism Special Unit. After a night out with his girlfriend goes badly wrong, Raza Shar is arrested and identified as a potential informant. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Gabe Waters is partnered with new recruit DC Holly Morten and introduces her to the world of informants. Ambitious and uninhibited, Holly pushes boundaries to get Raza on board.

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Killing Eve – Series 1-2

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s twisted cat-and-mouse drama follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), an MI5 security officer who’s tired of her mundane desk job in London. Her role takes a turn for the better when she’s assigned a new case – she must track down glamorous, yet psychopathic serial killer Villanella (Jodie Comer), who’s been dropping bodies around Europe in a series of inventive murders. In time, the hunter and the hunted become equally obsessed with one another, even before they’ve met.

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McMafia – Series 1

Inspired by the book McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by journalist Misha Glenny, McMafia charts Alex Godman’s (James Norton) journey as he is drawn deeper and deeper into the world of organised crime. As the English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history, Alex has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of that criminal past, building his own legitimate business and forging a life with his girlfriend Rebecca (Juliet Rylance). But when his family’s past returns to threaten them, Alex is forced to confront his values to protect those he loves.

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Press – Series 1

At the Herald, a left-leaning broadsheet struggling to adapt to the age of digital news, deputy news editor Holly Evans pursues a lead over the death of a young woman following a hit-and-run by a police car. When she learns that a nearby shop has already given its CCTV footage of the accident to the Post, a thriving populist tabloid sharing a building in the same square as the Herald, Holly approaches editor Duncan Allen and asks for the tapes. Meanwhile, at the Post, Oxford graduate Ed Washburn is given his first 'death knock' and comes under pressure to run a story against a dead footballer’s parents’ will.

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The Cry – Series 1

Joanna and Alistair travel from Scotland to Australia with their baby son Noah to see Alistair's mother and to fight for custody of his 14-year-old daughter from his previous marriage. Joanna is struggling with life as a new mum, and the flight to Melbourne is a huge additional strain on her. Exhausted and emotional from the journey, the couple finally arrive in Australia, where unforeseen events – and the white light of public scrutiny – change their lives forever.

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The Disappearance – Series 1

When teenager Lea Morel does not return home from a music festival, her desperate parents contact the police. As the police investigate, the girl's friends and family are revealed as a suspicious set of characters, each with secrets of their own. Lieutenant Molina, freshly transferred from Paris, uncovers areas of Lea's life that her family knows nothing about and soon discovers that Lea has been introduced to single-seater racing – but wonders how she managed to pay for lessons. A must-watch French thriller.

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The Missing – Series 1-2

In 2006, Tony and Emily Hughes' life changes forever when their five-year-old son Oliver goes missing on a family holiday to France. As their desperation and the profile of the case grows, Tony and Emily find themselves thrown into a media maelstrom, learning the hard way that not everyone they meet is willing to operate in their best interests. In the present day, the couple are divorced and Tony refuses to believe that Oliver is dead, doggedly continuing his search to find his son. And when a shred of evidence emerges, Detective Julien Baptiste returns to try and finally get to the bottom of what happened to Oliver.

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The Nest – Series 1

Dan and Emily are crazy about each other. They live in a huge house in the nicest part of Glasgow and want for nothing. But they've been trying to have a baby for years with no success. When a chance encounter brings 18-year-old Kaya into Emily's life, it seems that fate may have brought them together. She makes Emily an offer – she will be Dan and Emily's surrogate, if they help set her life on track. But with only one embryo left, can Dan and Emily trust a teenage girl they barely know with their last chance to have a family?

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The Secrets She Keeps – Series 1

This brand-new BBC series is a gripping thriller. Meghan Shaughnessy is happily pregnant with her third child; her husband Jack is less so, worried with money issues and stressed at work. Agatha Fyfle is also pregnant, but their two lives couldn't be more different. Influencer Meghan and struggling Agatha’s worlds are about to collide in a shocking act that cannot be undone.

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The Honourable Woman – Series 1

As children, Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her brother Ephra (Andrew Buchan) witnessed the assassination of their father, a well-known Israeli arms manufacturer. Now in her thirties, Nessa has taken control of the company and refocused its purpose on connecting Palestine and Israel to promote peace. Her efforts have resulted in an appointment from the House of Lords. Everything comes to a head when a secret from her past threatens to be exposed and those closest to her are potentially her most dangerous enemies.

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Clique – Series 1

Holly attends university with her childhood best friend. But when her friend becomes embroiled with an exclusive group of people and her behaviour changes, Holly becomes concerned for her and decides to investigate. Soon a group of young men – all smart, all magnetic in their charisma – take an interest in Holly. But these young men, led by charismatic Jack, have a no-nonsense attitude to what they see going on with the university administration and decide to take matters into their own hands.

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Call The Midwife – Series 1-8

Call the Midwife tells the colourful stories of midwifery and families in London’s East End in the 1950s and beyond. Inspired by the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, Call the Midwife follows the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House, who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care. Stars Helen George, Miranda Hart, Vanessa Redgrave and Charlotte Richie.

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