The best TV shows on BritBox to watch now

There was a time where only the gloomiest of us would have imagined we would be sat here now, watching another season of David Tennant and Michael Sheen’s comedy Staged. When it first arrived the series was a brilliant bolt of joy in among the misery of 2020, but it felt so inextricably linked with the pandemic and lockdowns that one would have had to believe we’d still be confined to our houses for another season to be on the way.

Yet this season finds David and Michael in the present day, going about their everyday lives and having cut off all contact from their former director Simon. However, as his career remains stagnant, Simon plots to rope the pair back together to record a new radio play just in time for Christmas.

But one thing hasn’t changed, and that’s Tennant and Sheen’s inimitable chemistry and farcical squabbling – and the joy of watching that in any form certainly doesn’t seem to be at risk of diminishing any time soon.

James Hibbs

First shown on BBC One in 2010 and now available to watch on BritBox, Van Gogh: Painted with Words captures Benedict Cumberbatch just as his star was beginning to rapidly rise. Months later he would hit the big time in Sherlock and there’s some of that role’s fearsome but troubled intelligence here, in a one-off docudrama based on Vincent Van Gogh’s letters, written over an 18-year period to his brother Theo. But this is also a portrait of a deeply uncertain, vulnerable man, dogged by poor mental health and constantly wrestling with how to turn his own acute sensitivity into something beautiful, rather than just another source of private anguish.

With Cumberbatch handling the rage and the desperation skilfully, it’s a revealing bio of Van Gogh personally and an insightful examination of art’s effect on its creators more generally.

Jack Seale

Martin Freeman stars in this drama that tells the true story of DS Stephen Fulcher, who breaches police protocol and puts his reputation on the line while investigating the case of missing 22-year-old Sian O’Callaghan.

The series also stars Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter), Siobhan Finneran (Downton Abbey) and Charlie Cooper (This Country).

BBC One’s 2006 drama The State Within is one to bookmark if you enjoy international conspiracy thrillers, mainly because it merrily attempts to cram as many of the genre’s classic plotlines into one show as will fit. The central one is a plane crashing in America, apparently in a suicide attack by a British terrorist – when the US reacts with authoritarian abandon, Ambassador Mark Brydon (Jason Isaacs) has some work to do. But there’s an illicit affair, a war hero on Death Row and a rogue diplomat in a former Soviet state to take care of as well.

It’s breathless chaos, classily presented.

Jack Seale

Peter Moffat, the writer who has since gone on to create Silk (NOW), The Village (Amazon Freevee), Undercover (BritBox) and Your Honor (Paramount+), really made his mark in 2008 with this stunner of a drama, initially starring Ben Whishaw as a fearful, slight young man who finds himself accused of murder and looks on the available evidence to be guilty, but who can't recall committing the crime and doesn't seem capable of it. His journey through the legal system, and particularly his experiences in prison on remand, are not easily forgotten. A second series tells the separate story of another accused, played by Maxine Peake.

Jack Seale

Before he was a face known around the world for his cinema work, the late Robbie Coltrane was one of the brightest lights on British television in the 1980s and 90s, thanks mainly to two seminal roles. BritBox has them both to stream.

First up, Cracker, the crime drama with a central conceit - the worst criminals are brought down by a psychologist who understands disturbed minds so well because to some extent, he is a monster too - that is still being copied by several new shows every year to this day. Coltrane's performance has a fearsome wisdom borne of the man himself. Do, however, also rewatch 1987's Tutti Frutti, a cult-classic comedy drama about a disintegrating rock ’n’ roll band. Coltrane is its erratically beating heart. He's equally brilliant in 2016 celebrity-shame drama National Treasure (All 4).

Jack Seale

This Doctor Who spin-off from 2007 ran for five seasons, and while it may have skewed younger than the adult-oriented Torchwood, it was just as popular.

Focusing on the Doctor’s former companion Sarah Jane, her adopted son and his group of friends, the show saw multiple Doctor Who characters both friend and foe pop-up, including the Doctor himself on two occasions.

With a lot of heart and humour, this series is worth watching even if only for some of the remarkable Elisabeth Sladen’s final performances. All five seasons are available on BritBox.

Starring Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan, this BritBox original adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s novel is sure to scratch any murder mystery aficionado’s itch.

The six-part series tells a story within a story, as editor Susan Ryland receives an unfinished manuscript from one of her authors, who is then murdered. She then begins to suspect that the manuscript may contain clues to his real life killing. The series also starts Conleth Hill and Daniel Mays.

Satirical series Spitting Image returned after 24 years off the air to lampoon the politicians and celebrities of the 21st century, exclusively for BritBox subscribers.

The puppet-based show, which originally aired on ITV from 1984 until 1996, has returned to take a pop at the biggest names on the planet, from Donald Trump and Kanye West, to Adele and Greta Thunberg. With 100 new cartoonish puppets making their Spitting Image debut on BritBox, there’s plenty of fresh material for fans of the long-running series as well as viewers who’ve never seen the original.

BritBox got the latest second season of this period drama before ITV, meaning you can binge watch all the episodes right now rather than waiting week to week.

The series is an adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished manuscript of the same name, and stars Rose Williams as Charlotte Heywood, an unconventional young woman who navigates life, love and friendship in the seaside town of Sanditon.

The show seemed like it was initially set to be cancelled after its first season, but a passionate fan campaign lead to Masterpiece and BritBox UK stepping in to save it. Want to see why it’s so beloved? You can catch all the episodes on BritBox now and find out.

Based on the novel by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, this six-part police thriller stars Dougray Scott as a troubled addict and detective named DI Ray Lennox – who finds himself attempting to solve a case while battling his own demons.

As with much of Welsh’s work, the series unfolds in Edinburgh and offers a sometimes grim portrait of Scotland’s capital, though it is packed with all sorts of darkly comedic moments as well. The central case sees Lennox tasked with finding a missing schoolgirl – and it’s an extremely gripping mystery to watch unfold.

The very first original drama from BritBox, this crime series is adapted from the novel of the same name by Cecil Day-Lewis, and concerns an Isle of Wight woman who embarks on a rescue mission after her son is killed in a hit and run incident.

Meanwhile, a former city police detective has recently arrived on the island after leaving his previous job due to a traumatic incident – and soon finds that village police work might not be any more straightforward than what he’s left behind.

The impressive cast for the series includes Cush Jumbo, Billy Howle and Jared Harris, and the performances along with the show’s rich atmosphere make it a very compelling watch.

Whilst the UK’s politics may now often be somewhat stranger than fiction, Armando Iannucci’s cutting satire still feels timely, well-observed and utterly hilarious. It centres around the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSAC) and the ministers and civil servants who operate within it, starring Rebecca Front, Chris Addison, Joanna Scanlan and more, all at the top of their game.

However, the star of the show is undeniably Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker, the sweary, fierce spin-doctor who is undeniably one of the best comic creations in recent memory. The series is consistently hilarious and engaging throughout, but when Tucker is onscreen comedic fireworks ensue.

This sinfully funny sitcom was one of our top Lockdown Binges and with good reason – Dawn French answers all our prayers as Geraldine Granger, a left-leaning vicar and bonne vivante who rocks up to the sleepy village of Dibley and turns it upside down.

The series first aired back in the mid-90s when female vicars were still a novelty, but new viewers will find that the show still provides laughs aplenty, alongside sneaking in some still-prescient messages about sexism and body positivity.

The sitcom also features a cast of memorable and eccentric characters.

The film adaptation of this hugely popular period drama from Julian Fellowes dominated the box office both at home and overseas. Now, you can catch up with everything that preceded it, with all episodes of the television series available to stream now on BritBox.

Set in 1912, the series begins by introducing you to the Crawley family and their servants who inhabit the Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey. Over the course of the series, famous events from history will shake them to their core.

The first series stars Hugh Bonneville (Paddington), Maggie Smith (Harry Potter) and Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast).

This crime drama starring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and David Tennant (Doctor Who) received critical acclaim when it first aired on ITV back in 2013.

Series one begins with the murder of an 11-year-old boy in the small coastal town of Broadchurch, with DI Alec Hardy (Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Colman) called in to investigate. All three series are available to stream.

One of the most iconic sitcoms the BBC has ever made, Only Fools and Horses remains a firm favourite decades after it originally aired. The series stars David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst as Del Boy and Rodney Trotter, market traders chasing the dream of one day becoming millionaires.

Remembered for both its hilarious jokes and occasionally emotional moments, seven series of the show are available to stream on BritBox.

Gavin & Stacey tells the charming story of a boy from Essex (Matthew Horne) and a girl from Barry Island (Joanna Page) who fall in love, following the highs and lows of their sometimes challenging relationship.

The series was created by James Corden and Ruth Jones, who also co-star as the unlikely pairing Smithy and Nessa, alongside a superb supporting cast that includes Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman and Rob Brydon.

Murder-mystery fans are well catered for on BritBox, with Agatha Christie adaptations Miss Marple and Poirot available to stream.

Both Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie have played Marple in ITV’s adaptations, an elderly lady with a penchant for solving murders in her spare time.

Meanwhile, French detective Poirot belonged solely to actor David Suchet across 13 popular series that saw every single one of the character’s stories adapted.

Love it or loathe it, there’s no getting away from it. ITV2’s Love Island is a hugely popular show for the broadcaster and now fans can catch up with every series on BritBox.

The reality competition brings a selection of young singles to a luxury villa, where they must couple up or risk elimination. The winning pair receives £50,000 of prize money.