Episode 1
Walt, King of the Dumper
Episode credits
Directed by Jack GoldWritten by Jim AllenGuest stars Dennis Waterman, Wanda Ventham
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 7 episodes
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Where to watch Thirty-Minute Theatre
Episode 2
Soldier Ants
Episode credits
Directed by Donald McWhinnieWritten by John GaleGuest stars Paul Aston, Earl Cameron
Episode 3
Gun Play
Episode credits
Directed by Rodney BennettWritten by Philip MartinGuest stars John Collin, Anna Cropper
Episode 4
Combing Down His Yellow Hair
Episode credits
Directed by Ken HannamWritten by Raymond HitchcockGuest stars Brian Cox, Mark McManus
Episode 5
The Moonlighters
Episode credits
Directed by Brian FarnhamWritten by Thomas ClarkeGuest stars Windsor Davies, Sharon Duce
Episode 6
Getting In
Episode credits
Directed by John HefinWritten by Mavor MooreGuest stars Robert Hardy, Joss Ackland
Episode 7
Psychological Warfare
Episode credits
Directed by Mike NewellGuest stars Del Henney, Steven Berkoff
Episode 8
A Settled Sort of Life
Episode credits
Directed by Michael HayesWritten by Thomas ClarkeGuest stars Sara Kestelman, Norman Rodway
Episode 9
The Gardeners of My Youth
Episode credits
Directed by Donald McWhinnieWritten by Rhys AdrianGuest stars Hugh Burden, Trader Faulkner
Episode 10
Blues in the Morning
Episode credits
Guest stars Prunella Scales, Barry Evans, Harold Kasket
Episode 11
Jenkins
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Directed by Eric HillsWritten by David SnodinGuest stars Charles Gray, Lyndon Brook
Episode 12
Allotment
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Directed by Tina WakerellWritten by Sean HignettGuest stars Frank Windsor, Derek Anders
Episode 13
Farewell Performance
Episode credits
Directed by Rodney BennettWritten by Rodney BennettGuest stars Sydney Tafler
Episode 14
Footprints
Episode credits
Directed by Basil ColemanWritten by Robin SmythGuest stars Daphne Slater, Terence Longdon
Episode 15
A Wen
Episode credits
Directed by Piers HaggardWritten by Saul BellowGuest stars Miriam Karlin, Sam Wanamaker
Episode 16
Not Counting the Savages
An incident in a graveyard has upset a middle-aged housewife, but her husband couldn't care less.
Episode credits
Directed by Mike NewellWritten by B. S. JohnsonGuest stars Hugh Burden, Brenda Bruce, Fiona Walker
Episode 17
Uncle Rollo
Uncle Rollo has a bad habit of remembering all the things his nephew Ivor would like to forget.
Episode credits
Directed by Hugh DavidWritten by Ron BerryGuest stars Hugh Griffith, Clive Merrison
Episode 18
They Don't All Open Men's Boutiques
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert WiseWritten by Willis HallGuest stars Derek Newark, Dave Hill
Episode 19
The Penthouse Apartment
Morgan the caretaker really doesn't like Mr. and Mrs. Runca, two of the tenants he's supposed to look after - and he picks the worst possible time to let them know it.
Episode credits
Directed by Gilchrist CalderWritten by William TrevorGuest stars Colin Blakely, Rachel Kempson
Episode 20
An Affair of Honour
If Major Bartholomew isn't insane, why is he playing Russian roulette with a lovelorn subaltern?
Episode credits
Directed by Mark CullinghamWritten by Reg HillGuest stars Nigel Davenport, Michael Pennington
Episode 21
An Arrow for Little Audrey
Episode credits
Directed by Paul CiappessoniWritten by Brian FinchGuest stars Eric Allan, Geoffrey Hughes
Episode 22
That Quiet Earth
Episode credits
Directed by John HopkinsWritten by John HopkinsGuest stars Shirley Knight, David Savile, David Bradley
Episode 23
Said the Preacher
Episode credits
Directed by Michael AptedWritten by Arthur HopcraftGuest stars Victor Henry, Madge Hindle
Episode 24
That Time of Life
Episode credits
Directed by Michael SimpsonWritten by David CreganGuest stars Peter Bayliss, John Neville
Episode 25
Under the Age
Gay bartender Susie applies make-up and holds sway over a quiet bar, responding with suspicion and bitterness to two men and then two women who enter, all communicating with meanness, innuendo and sniggering.
Episode credits
Directed by Alan ClarkeWritten by Ted WhiteheadGuest stars Paul Angelis, Michael Angelis
Episode 26
Bypass
Episode credits
Directed by David RoseWritten by David RudkinGuest stars Jean Leppard, Bob Peck
Episode 27
And For My Next Trick
Episode credits
Directed by Brian ParkerWritten by Jack RosenthalGuest stars Noel Dyson, Tenniel Evans
Episode 28
The Sit In
Episode credits
Directed by Paul CiappessoniWritten by Keith DewhurstGuest stars Carolyn Courage, Barry Foster
Episode 29
Mill Hill
A dentist discovers his wife on the verge of having an affair with another man - a rival dentist.
Episode credits
Directed by Michael HayesWritten by John MortimerGuest stars Clive Revill, Geraldine McEwan, Peter Cook
Episode 30
King's Cross Lunch Hour
A romantic rendezvous doesn't quite go as planned.
Episode credits
Directed by Gilchrist CalderWritten by John MortimerGuest stars Pauline Collins, Joss Ackland
Episode 31
Swiss Cottage
Episode credits
Directed by Rodney BennettWritten by John MortimerGuest stars Jan Francis, Derek Godfrey
Episode 32
Knightsbridge
Francesca has some concerns about her mother's business.
Episode credits
Directed by Mark CullinghamWritten by John MortimerGuest stars Donald Churchill, Googie Withers
Episode 33
Bermondsey
Pip and Bob, both married, are a couple of ordinary working-class blokes in an ordinary London suburb. It's just that they have also been gay lovers for years.
Episode credits
Directed by Claude WhathamWritten by John MortimerGuest stars Sharon Duce, Edward Fox, Rosemary Leach, Dinsdale Landen
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
Available now in United States
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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