Next Episode of Play for Today is
Season 2 / Episode 1 and airs on 25 September 2026 20:00
Inspired by the iconic Play for Today format, each production will champion new voices and focus on bringing low-income talent into the spotlight behind the scenes in writing, directing and production roles.
Set in a deceptively peaceful retirement village, this darkly comic drama follows sharp-tongued, fiercely independent Cynthia as she's reluctantly moved in by her daughter. Cynthia clashes with eccentric residents, oppressive rules, and the surprise reappearance of her old rockstar fling from the 1970s. What begins as a mission to get kicked out becomes something more complicated, as she's forced to confront long-buried secrets, strained family ties, and the unexpected possibility of starting over.
It's a story about Edith and Arthur Thistle – for fifty-three years, they have managed to get by—never rich, never extravagant, but always together. That all changes in an instant when they win fourteen million pounds in the lottery. Arthur dreams of spending big, finally tasting the high life. But before the celebrations can begin, Edith drops a bombshell: she wants a divorce.
Lenny Bray was once a national treasure - now he's just a man in a mansion, hiding from headlines and haunted by whispers. But when a young man shows up at his door late one night—barefoot, bleeding, and carrying a story Lenny hoped was buried—everything unravels. Across one harrowing night, Lenny and his wife Maggie must confront a stranger's explosive accusations—and their own complicity in a past steeped in power, silence, and manipulation.
Manor Lane High is a school on the edge - underfunded and overwhelmed, the school's staff are stretched thin. Just before the school day begins, Drew, the exhausted head of English, abruptly resigns for good. Left reeling, Amy, the deputy head of English, must step in and steady the ship. But she barely has time to gather her thoughts— Chris, the frantic deputy head, breaks the news: Ofsted inspectors are arriving in 15 minutes for a surprise inspection. Caught between burnout and bureaucracy, can this fractured school survive the day?
A survival dramedy set in the breath-taking yet unforgiving Scottish Highlands. Lou, Dev, and Alistair, three old friends clinging to their annual wild camping tradition, begin with banter, nostalgia, and amateur vlogging, but soon unravel into a battle of egos, secrets, and survival when they get lost, food runs short, and friendships fracture. At once funny, poignant, and unsettling, Wild explores the line between adventure and recklessness, and how toxic masculinity has become a huge part of the epidemic decline in men's mental health.
Barbara is a ferociously stubborn English grandmother who literally chains herself to her beloved cottage when it's threatened with demolition by High Speed train developers. Peter is the company's smooth, painfully polite liaison dispatched to remove her - only to discover she's also his estranged grandmother. What follows is a gloriously awkward battle of wills: Barbara's weaponised stubbornness and talent for public protest versus Peter's frantic attempts to keep his corporate career (and dignity) intact. As their standoff snowballs into a small‑town circus of press, protestors, and well‑meaning locals, both are forced to reckon with what "home" really means — and whether blood ties can survive locked gates, padlocks, and a very watchful village.
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
Please try again later or contact us.