Period Dramas [OLD]

Get lost in these bites of escapist British fare and enjoy the exquisite costumes, the sumptuous storyline, and the revelation of lost times.

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Downton Abbey
The phenomenon that changed the face of British TV forever. Set in the lavish 1900’s Yorkshire country estate, follow the lives and affairs of the elite Crawley family and their servants.
Show · 6 Seasons
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Persuasion
Anne Elliot is pressured by her parents to turn away her true love due to his lack of status or wealth. Years later, he returns from sea, a successful naval officer, which salts the wound on Anne’s heart.
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Anna of the Five Towns
The daughter of a rich widower struggles to cope with newfound wealth, blossoming love, and independence from her domineering father.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Cinder Path
Romantically involved with two sisters, a farmer’s son seeking redemption goes off to fight in WWI and must face the enemy as well as his demons.
Show · 1 Season
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Life in Squares
Two sisters escape to a new life in the bohemian Bloomsbury area of London, where they defy the norms of Victorian England.
Show · 1 Season
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Vanity Fair (1987)
William Makepeace Thackeray’s story, set during the Napoleonic wars, where poor orphan Becky Sharp slyly maneuvers her way up the ladder of high society.
Show · 1 Season
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The Duchess of Duke Street
This Emmy-nominated series follows a Cockney servant girl as she rises to manage one of Edwardian London’s most prestigious hotels.
Show · 2 Seasons
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Daniel Deronda
In George Eliot’s love story, the spirited Gwendolen Harleth falls for a sensitive, intelligent young man, haunted by the secrets that surround his birth.
Show · 1 Season
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Hearts of Gold
Two people from very different backgrounds find it impossible to be together. But their love makes them determined - and destined - to try.
Show · 1 Season
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The Nightwatch
Linked by their wartime experiences, four young Londoners in the 1940s discover new freedom and must make peace with their past in order to build their future.
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Sense and Sensibility (1981)
Two sisters with differing attitudes to life and love navigate their romantic lives in a society obsessed with wealth and status.
Show · 1 Season
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The Paradise
A young woman moves to the city and is seduced by the intoxicating charms and luxuries of Britain’s first department store.
Show · 2 Seasons
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Vanity Fair (1998)
Penniless orphan Becky Sharp is an unstoppable schemer and seductive social climber who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Show · 1 Season
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Servants
In front of their masters, the servants of the Sturges Born family are silent and obedient. But out of sight, they lead lives full of secrets, ambition, love, and intrigue.
Show · 1 Season
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Lorna Doone (2000)
Having watched the ruthless Doones clan slay his father as a child, John Ridd swears revenge. As he grows older, he falls for a woman on the side of his sworn enemy.
Show · 1 Season
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The Woman in White
One of the world's first whodunits, where a strange woman may hold the key to unlocking a mystery. What is the secret of the wild-eyed woman in white?
Show · 1 Season
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Little Women (1970)
Louisa May Alcott’s timeless coming of age tale about four very different sisters who experience love and loss growing up during the American Civil War.
Show · 1 Season
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The Buccaneers
In London for the season, four beautiful Americans charm the impoverished English aristocracy with their vivacity and wealth. But it all turns to ashes.
Show · 1 Season
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Like the Dickens

Dickensian
You don't need to know Dickens' novels to fall in love with these stories. The world of Dickens has been realized and reimagined as his most iconic characters live side by side and take on new journeys of love, scandal, and intrigue.
Show · 1 Season
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Oliver Twist (2007)
William Miller and Tom Hardy star in the classic Dickens tale. After growing up in a workhouse, Oliver sets out for London and meets a peculiar cast of characters.
Show · 1 Season
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Bleak House
This imaginative adaptation of Dickens' Victorian drama stars Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock, who must hide a dark secret from lawyer Tulkinghorn amid an infamous court case.
Show · 1 Season
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Little Dorrit
This moving series adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel chronicles the wavering fortunes and hardships of a young girl caring for her father in the debtor’s prison where she was born.
Show · 1 Season
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Our Mutual Friend
Set against the contrasting backgrounds of new money and squalid poverty, two love stories unfold amid bitter tensions over money, class, and passion in this Dickens tale.
Show · 1 Season
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A Christmas Carol
Since "A Christmas Carol" was first published in 1843, the name of Ebenezer Scrooge has been famous throughout the world. See Michael Hordern's stunning portrayal of the miserly misanthrope being shown the error of his ways in this iconic adaptation.
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Bleak House (1985)
As the arduous Jarndyce vs Jarndyce case staggers onward, more and more people become embroiled in a furious legal battle that can only lead to a bitter ending.
Show · 1 Season
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A Ghost Story for Christmas
Gather round the fire for a series of chilling Christmas tales, featuring seasonally supernatural stories from Charles Dickens, MR James, and more.
Show · 1 Season
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David Copperfield
Dickens' classic is brought to life in this charming adaptation with a stellar cast including Maggie Smith, Emilia Fox, and Daniel Radcliffe in his very first professional role.
Show · 1 Season
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Great Expectations (1999)
Violence and Victorian gentility meet in one of Dickens' greatest creations, and this adaptation is appropriately dark, sometimes savagely comic, and wholly unsentimental.
Show · 1 Season
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David Copperfield (1986)
Charles Dickens’ cherished story chronicling the life of a kind-hearted orphan, from his childhood tribulations to his literary success.
Show · 1 Season
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A Tale of Two Cities
Set during the French Revolution, this timeless Dickens tale of romance, sacrifice, and tyranny finds a noble hero torn between improving society and self-advancement.
Show · 1 Season
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Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens' tale of old Martin Chuzzlewit and his family, who compete for the prize of his riches as he nears death.
Show · 1 Season
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Dombey and Son
Charles Dickens' tale of Paul Dombey, a cold and arrogant shipping magnate whose pride costs him his family, fortune, and happiness.
Show · 1 Season
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Great Expectations (1981)
In this adaptation of one of Charles Dickens’ greatest works, an orphan with humble beginnings grows to become a gentleman, thanks to an anonymous benefactor.
Show · 1 Season
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Hard Times
In an industrial town where markets overshadow the human spirit, a retired merchant forbids his children to engage in imaginative pursuits.
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Drovers' Gold
When a drover refuses to pay a reasonable price for a widow’s cattle, her son recruits a ragtag crew to take the herd to market in this tale of adventure and romance.
Show · 1 Season
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The Pickwick Papers
In Charles Dickens’ comic masterpiece, Mr. Pickwick and his three colleagues set out on a hilarious and revelatory journey through Victorian England.
Show · 1 Season
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The Catherine Cookson Collection

Catherine Cookson's The Glass Virgin
Living a life of luxury, Annabella Lagange is blissfully unaware that her father is a wastrel and a womanizer. Also unbeknownst to her is a life-shattering secret.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Wingless Bird
As Britain is on the brink of WWI, three very different families are linked by the strong-minded Agnes Conway in this story of perseverance and love across class divides.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Man Who Cried
Set during the turbulent times of the 1930's Depression and WWII, Abel Mason searches for happiness for himself and his young son.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Dwelling Place
A young girl must care for her 5 younger siblings following her parents’ death and is challenged when the aristocratic Fischel family takes an unwelcome interest.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Tide of Life
The lively and unconventional young Emily Kennedy learns valuable lessons about life and love in her relationships with three very different men.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Moth
In early 1900’s England, a carpenter leaves the shipyards for a job in his uncle's business, and life in the country is not as idyllic as he had imagined.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Cinder Path
Romantically involved with two sisters, a farmer’s son seeking redemption goes off to fight in WWI and must face the enemy as well as his demons.
Show · 1 Season
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The Fifteen Streets
In this romance starring Sean Bean and Owen Teale, a rugged laborer and the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder struggle to find love across class divides.
Movie
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Catherine Cookson's The Gambling Man
Feeling trapped by the slums of South Shields, Rory Connor tries his hand at gambling to get what he wants out of life - but the luck of a gambler goes both ways.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Rag Nymph
"Raggie Aggie" Winkowski takes in the young Millie Forrester, abandoned in the cold streets by her mother.
Show · 1 Season
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Catherine Cookson's The Girl
A dying woman delivers her daughter to the home of her former lover, Mr Thorton, and his wife is not pleased with the new arrangement.
Show · 1 Season
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Austen's Power

Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Two sisters learn what it takes to find love and happiness in a restrictive high society, where wealth and status trump all.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Persuasion
Anne Elliot is pressured by her parents to turn away her true love due to his lack of status or wealth. Years later, he returns from sea, a successful naval officer, which salts the wound on Anne’s heart.
Movie
Play now Discover more
Northanger Abbey
A young woman with a taste for melodrama and romance is invited to stay with the affluent Tilney family, where she learns a sinister family secret.
Movie
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Emma
Romola Garai is Jane Austen’s fickle heroine, fatally convinced she is good at matchmaking, but unaware she is playing a dangerous game that might finally force her to grow up.
Show · 1 Season
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Sense and Sensibility (1981)
Two sisters with differing attitudes to life and love navigate their romantic lives in a society obsessed with wealth and status.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Mansfield Park
In Jane Austen’s witty Regency romance, impoverished Fanny is sent to live with her more affluent uncle and struggles for acceptance by her shallow relatives.
Show · 1 Season
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Pride and Prejudice (Restored in 4K)
On its 25th anniversary, Jane Austen’s timeless love story is given the most lavish treatment yet in this exclusive 4K restoration on BritBox.
Show · 1 Season
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Pride and Prejudice (1980)
While Mrs. Bennet frantically tries to find husbands for her five daughters, willful and strong-minded Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
Show · 1 Season
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Emma (1972)
In Emma Woodhouse’s imprudent attempts to meddle in her friends’ love lives, she is counseled and criticized by her brother-in-law, whose attentions are motivated by more than just brotherly love.
Show · 1 Season
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From Page to Screen

Cranford
Judi Dench stars in this story of a Northern, small-town hub of intrigue where everyone talks - and everyone is talked about.
Show · 2 Seasons
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Lorna Doone (2000)
Having watched the ruthless Doones clan slay his father as a child, John Ridd swears revenge. As he grows older, he falls for a woman on the side of his sworn enemy.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte's classic novel springs vibrantly to life in this lavish and slightly steamy adaptation, featuring Ruth Wilson (Luther) in her TV debut as the titular "poor, obscure, plain and little" heroine.
Show · 1 Season
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Mansfield Park
In Jane Austen’s witty Regency romance, impoverished Fanny is sent to live with her more affluent uncle and struggles for acceptance by her shallow relatives.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
After moving to a remote village, a widow remains mysteriously silent about her past - until she becomes the focus of malicious village gossip.
Show · 1 Season
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North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell's tale of love across class divides, where a girl of privilege experiences the hardships of the working class firsthand.
Show · 1 Season
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Vanity Fair (1987)
William Makepeace Thackeray’s story, set during the Napoleonic wars, where poor orphan Becky Sharp slyly maneuvers her way up the ladder of high society.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë’s unforgettable story of jealousy, revenge, and the destructive passion of lovers Heathcliff and Cathy.
Show · 1 Season
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Daniel Deronda
In George Eliot’s love story, the spirited Gwendolen Harleth falls for a sensitive, intelligent young man, haunted by the secrets that surround his birth.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more

Timeless Romance

Pride and Prejudice (Restored in 4K)
On its 25th anniversary, Jane Austen’s timeless love story is given the most lavish treatment yet in this exclusive 4K restoration on BritBox.
Show · 1 Season
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A Revolutionary Romance
The wedding that had the entire world vying for an invite. Illustrated with rich archive and snippets from a select cast in the know, we reveal Harry and Meghan's wildly different backgrounds and the sheer luck that brought them together.
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Emma
Romola Garai is Jane Austen’s fickle heroine, fatally convinced she is good at matchmaking, but unaware she is playing a dangerous game that might finally force her to grow up.
Show · 1 Season
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Doctor Zhivago
Physician and poet Yury Zhivago wrestles with his intense love for two women during the Russian Revolution. Keira Knightley & Sam Neill star in this stunning adaptation of the heartbreaking love story.
Show · 1 Season
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Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte's classic novel springs vibrantly to life in this lavish and slightly steamy adaptation, featuring Ruth Wilson (Luther) in her TV debut as the titular "poor, obscure, plain and little" heroine.
Show · 1 Season
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Christopher and His Kind
Matt Smith and Toby Jones star in this stirring drama chronicling the formative years of novelist Christopher Isherwood and the forging of his identity amidst the chaos of 1930s Berlin.
Movie
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Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers in 14th-century Verona, their romance is doomed by the longstanding blood feud between their respective families.
Movie
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Tipping the Velvet
Keeley Hawes (Stonehouse) and Rachael Stirling (Wild Bill) star in this tempestuous tale of love and life, where a naïve girl discovers both romance and pain in the decadent world of bohemian 1890s London.
Show · 1 Season
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Against the Law
When Peter Wildeblood fell in love with Edward McNally in 1952, homosexuality was a crime in Britain. Their love affair would have devastating consequences for each of them, leading to a watershed moment for British equality.
Movie
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The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Set in Regency London, this evocative story of courage and forbidden love follows a woman’s fight to tell her own story when she is accused of murder.
Show · 1 Season
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Miss Austen Regrets
Based on the life of one of Britain’s most treasured authors. As she approaches age forty, Jane Austen appears happily single until she reflects on previous suitors and life choices in this enchanting drama.
Movie
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Our Mutual Friend
Set against the contrasting backgrounds of new money and squalid poverty, two love stories unfold amid bitter tensions over money, class, and passion in this Dickens tale.
Show · 1 Season
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As Time Goes By
Classic romantic sitcom starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. Two lovers are reunited after decades apart following a mutual misunderstanding.
Show · 10 Seasons
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Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Two sisters learn what it takes to find love and happiness in a restrictive high society, where wealth and status trump all.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
North and South
Elizabeth Gaskell's tale of love across class divides, where a girl of privilege experiences the hardships of the working class firsthand.
Show · 1 Season
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The White Princess
"The White Princess" charts one of the most tumultuous times in British history uniquely from the viewpoint of the women waging the battle for power.
Show · 1 Season
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Downton Abbey
The phenomenon that changed the face of British TV forever. Set in the lavish 1900’s Yorkshire country estate, follow the lives and affairs of the elite Crawley family and their servants.
Show · 6 Seasons
Play now Discover more
Cranford
Judi Dench stars in this story of a Northern, small-town hub of intrigue where everyone talks - and everyone is talked about.
Show · 2 Seasons
Play now Discover more

The Great Victorian Era

The Moonstone
Described by TS Eliot as "the first and greatest of English detective novels", the Moonstone follows a man's quest to find a stolen diamond and win the heart of his beloved.
Show · 1 Season
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The Moonstone (1972)
Hugh Leonard's 1970s adaptation of the classic detective novel. Mystery and intrigue arise when a young woman inherits a large diamond that is said to bring disaster to all who possess it.
Show · 1 Season
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Lark Rise to Candleford
Rich, funny and emotional, Lark Rise to Candleford follows the relationship of two contrasting communities: Lark Rise, the small hamlet gently holding on to the past, and Candleford, the small market town bustling into the future.
Show · 4 Seasons
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Sherlock Holmes
Jeremy Brett, in a peerless portrayal of the classic character, stars in this faithful adaptation. From a blackmailed monarch to an abandoned Christmas goose, Holmes uses his acute perception and powers of observation to solve riddles and catch criminals.
Show · 4 Seasons
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Desperate Romantics
The young artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood quest for immortality amidst the darkest and funniest corners of 19th-century London. Poldark's Aidan Turner co-stars, appearing in his first TV mini-series.
Show · 1 Season
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Mrs Brown
Experience Judi Dench's Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Queen Victoria, whose unconventional friendship with servant John Brown (Billy Connolly) elicited an unprecedented palace scandal that threatened to weaken the monarchy.
Movie
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Cranford
Judi Dench stars in this story of a Northern, small-town hub of intrigue where everyone talks - and everyone is talked about.
Show · 2 Seasons
Play now Discover more

All About Aristocracy

Aristocrats
This sumptuous drama chronicles the turbulent lives of the Lennox sisters in the eighteenth century. Based on the popular novel by historian Stella Tillyard.
Show · 1 Season
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Upstairs Downstairs (2010)
One of the most beloved period dramas of all time is brought back to life in this sumptuous series starring Keeley Hawes and Claire Foy. Follow the secrets, lies, and scandals of Belgravia's masters and servants.
Show · 2 Seasons
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Elizabeth R
A terrified princess, surrounded by treachery, transforms into the Virgin Queen. Glenda Jackson gives an iconic performance in this multi-Emmy winner.
Show · 1 Season
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The Six Wives Of Henry VIII
This lavish period drama brings Tudor England to life through Henry VIII's wives - from Catherine of Aragon to Catherine Parr - while revealing England's most infamous king.
Show · 1 Season
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Upstairs Downstairs (Original)
One of the most cherished and successful series of all time, this magnificent costume drama spans three decades in the lives of the Bellamy family and their below stairs servants, between the years of 1903 and 1930.
Show · 5 Seasons
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All's Fair...

Sharpe
Sean Bean stars in these dramas set during the Napoleonic wars of 19th century Spain. Fast-moving, hard-hitting action adventures based on Bernard Cornwell's best-selling novels.
Show · 5 Seasons
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Henry V
William Shakespeare's classic play completes the story of Prince Hal's transformation from irresponsible rebel to the majestic monarch as he triumphs at the Battle of Agincourt.
Movie
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Andrew Davies' Favorites

Pride and Prejudice (Restored in 4K)
On its 25th anniversary, Jane Austen’s timeless love story is given the most lavish treatment yet in this exclusive 4K restoration on BritBox.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
The Nightwatch
Linked by their wartime experiences, four young Londoners in the 1940s discover new freedom and must make peace with their past in order to build their future.
Movie
Play now Discover more
Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Two sisters learn what it takes to find love and happiness in a restrictive high society, where wealth and status trump all.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
After moving to a remote village, a widow remains mysteriously silent about her past - until she becomes the focus of malicious village gossip.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Little Dorrit
This moving series adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel chronicles the wavering fortunes and hardships of a young girl caring for her father in the debtor’s prison where she was born.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Sense and Sensibility (1981)
Two sisters with differing attitudes to life and love navigate their romantic lives in a society obsessed with wealth and status.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more
Vanity Fair (1998)
Penniless orphan Becky Sharp is an unstoppable schemer and seductive social climber who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Show · 1 Season
Play now Discover more