Episode 1
Baby
Episode credits
Directed by Elsa BolamGuest stars David Dundas, Felicity Gibson
TV series
Thirty-Minute Theatre
19658 seasons4.3 / 10
An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.
Availability
Not streaming in United States
Checked Jul 22, 2026
Thirty-Minute Theatre premiered October 7, 1965. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
Synopsis
An anthology of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short length, and which therefore attracted many writers who later became well known.
Season 4 episodes
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Where to watch Thirty-Minute Theatre
Episode 2
A Matter of Principle
Episode credits
Directed by Oliver HorsbrughWritten by Maurice EdelmanGuest stars Peter Barkworth, Jacqueline Bertrand
Episode 3
The Flag
Episode credits
Directed by Malcolm TaylorWritten by Peter BrentGuest stars Leslie French, Joseph Fürst, George Pravda
Episode 4
The Chequers Manoeuvre
Episode credits
Directed by Christopher BarryWritten by Denis Plimmer, Charlotte PlimmerGuest stars Ernest Clark, Geoffrey Palmer
Episode 5
Something To Hide: The First Floor
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Directed by Michael HartWritten by Arden WinchGuest stars Charles Gray, Robin Chadwick
Episode 6
Something To Hide: The Studio
Episode credits
Directed by Michael HartWritten by Arden WinchGuest stars Robin Chadwick, Lyndon Brook, Charles Gray
Episode 7
Something To Hide: The Caretaker's Flat
Episode credits
Directed by Michael HartWritten by Arden WinchGuest stars Lyndon Brook, Charles Gray, William Franklyn
Episode 8
Of Public Concern
Episode credits
Directed by Geoffrey NethercottWritten by Don ShawGuest stars George Cole, Maurice Denham
Episode 9
Cause of Death
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Directed by Claude WhathamWritten by Denis Plimmer, Charlotte PlimmerGuest stars Richard Vernon, Kenneth Colley
Episode 10
The Last Victim
Episode credits
Directed by Tristan de Vere ColeGuest stars Peter Dyneley, Martin Jarvis
Episode 11
Loving Israel
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Directed by Michael HartWritten by Laurence CollinsonGuest stars David Buck, David Nettheim
Episode 12
The Bishop and the Actress
Episode credits
Directed by Geoffrey NethercottWritten by William Douglas-HomeGuest stars Celia Bannerman, Anthony Nicholls
Episode 13
Before Breakfast
Episode credits
Directed by Michael BakewellWritten by Robert RudelsonGuest stars Dean Stockwell, Lelia Goldoni, Rudolph Walker
Episode 14
Cross Examine
Episode credits
Directed by John MatthewsWritten by John FosterGuest stars Jean Marsh, Garfield Morgan, Tenniel Evans, Mary Webster, John Breslin
Episode 15
Swallowing the Anchor
Commander Dusting is used to commanding men and having his slightest wish obeyed. So it comes as a great shock when he suddenly finds himself redundant.
Episode credits
Directed by John WarringtonWritten by Frank ClementGuest stars Leslie Sands, Stephanie Bidmead
Episode 16
Game, Set and Match
Episode credits
Directed by John MatthewsWritten by John HowlettGuest stars Colin Blakely, Ronald Lacey
Episode 17
Where Have They Gone, All The Little Children
Episode credits
Directed by Philip DudleyWritten by Denis Plimmer, Charlotte PlimmerGuest stars Michael Gwynn, Zakes Mokae, Willie Jonah
Episode 18
Absolute Aggers and Torters
A young couple like to change their clothes and personalities to suit the people they've invited to dinner. But one night they forget who their guests are going to be.
Episode credits
Directed by Derrick GoodwinWritten by David HodsonGuest stars Amanda Barrie, Jeremy Lloyd
Episode 19
These Men Are Dangerous: Mussolini
Episode credits
Directed by Mark CullinghamWritten by Jean BenedettiGuest stars John Castle, Oliver Cotton, Leon Lissek, Arthur Pentelow
Episode 20
These Men Are Dangerous: Hitler
Episode credits
Directed by Rudolph CartierWritten by Jean BenedettiGuest stars Kenneth Colley, Ronald Lacey
Episode 21
These Men Are Dangerous: Stalin
Josef Djugashvili is not a suitable candidate for the priesthood. Revolutionary politics lead him to take the name Stalin.
Episode credits
Directed by Henri SafranWritten by Jean BenedettiGuest stars Brian Cox, Denis DeMarne
Episode 22
Stake Money
Episode credits
Directed by Eric HillsGuest stars Keith Baxter, George Sewell
Episode 23
First Confession
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Directed by Roderick GrahamWritten by Nicholas Bethell, Frank O'ConnorGuest stars Jack Wild, Eddie Byrne
Episode 24
The Boat To Addis Ababa
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Written by Gerald Wilson, Edward EtlerGuest stars Murray Melvin, Miriam Margolyes
Episode 25
A Hot Day
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Directed by Michael HayesWritten by Michael Hayes, Janusz WasylkowskiGuest stars Lee Montague, Michael Williams
Episode 26
Roses, Roses, All The Way
Episode credits
Directed by Alan BridgesWritten by Colin MorrisGuest stars Robert Powell, John Collin
Episode 27
The Victims: A Degree of Stress
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Directed by Mary RidgeWritten by Don ShawGuest stars Trevor Bannister, Bernard Hepton
Episode 28
The Victims: Frontier
Episode credits
Directed by John GlenisterWritten by Don ShawGuest stars Tom Baker, David Barry
Episode 29
The Victims: Progressive Blues
Episode credits
Directed by Anne HeadWritten by Don ShawGuest stars Frances Cuka, Clive Francis
Episode 30
Invasion
A small group of middle class people are sitting around a table in a windowless room enjoying a dinner party as the TV in the corner reports on events in the Vietnam War. Their trivial chatter, one by one, bores people at the dinner party, who turn their attention to the TV and become encapsulated by the horror of the war and the dinner party continues despite, one by one, each diner being overwhelmed by war scenes and is next seen dead in their seat in the same way as a Vietnamese war victim; meanwhile the babble continues and the guest's demise passes unnoticed, until there is only one left.
Episode credits
Directed by Donald McWhinnieWritten by Barry BermangeGuest stars Libby Morris, Tony Bilbow
Episode 31
A Nice Cool Pad in the Sky
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Directed by James BrabazonGuest stars Denise Buckley, Glynn Edwards
Episode 32
Anything You Say
Episode credits
Directed by Rodney BennettWritten by John FosterGuest stars Earl Cameron, Paul Hardwick
Episode 33
Conversation at Night
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Directed by Rudolph CartierWritten by Robert David MacDonald, Friedrich DürrenmattGuest stars John Gielgud, Alec Guinness
Episode 34
Roly Poly
Episode credits
Directed by Michael HartWritten by Stanisław Lem, Derek HoddinottGuest stars John Alderton, Elizabeth Bennett
Episode 35
...And Was Invited to Form a Government
Episode credits
Directed by Mark CullinghamWritten by Denis Plimmer, Charlotte PlimmerGuest stars Patrick Barr, David Collings
Episode 36
A Borderline Case
Episode credits
Directed by John WarringtonWritten by Robert FurnivalGuest stars Harold Bennett, Jan Chappell
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
Available now in United States
What to watch instead
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More about Thirty-Minute Theatre
Cast
Richard PearsonCyril Boggis
Norman RossingtonZinoviev
Lee MontagueThe Soldier
Donald SindenAndrew Pelham
Hugh BurdenHusband
John Franklyn-RobbinsPrisoner
Julian GloverThe Tenant
David CollingsSverdlovProduction details
- Status
- Ended
- Series type
- Scripted
- Episodes
- 285
- Original language
- English
Networks & production
BBC TwoUnited Kingdom
BBCUnited Kingdom
Themes
anthologybased on novel or bookbased on play or musicalbased on short storyliterary adaptationpartially lost media