Play for Today

Two provincial newspaper reporters - one a young idealist starting out on his career, the other an embittered man who previously wrote for a failed national daily - swap views.

The story of a man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing a cop

A story about the origin of the Stormont state

The story of Robinson Crusoe from Man Friday's viewpoint

A hippie breaks into the house of a middle-aged couple and forms a relationship with them

A man celebrating his birthday comes to appreciate the difference between media fantasy and mundane reality.

An elderly general woos a shy school teacher.

A washed-up executive is on the verge of bankruptcy.

A pregnant teenager sets about wooing a sailor in a sectarian council estate in Greenock.

A young couple have a baby boy. However, the new father doesn't take to his new position quite as well as expected.

The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge

Faced with the prospect of being sent to work abroad, Sally Brown returns home from London to Hull, to see if she still feels the same attachment for her home town - and for her old boyfriend Mike Thurlow. Will she decide to take the job abroad or return to live with Mike in Hull?

A long-married husband leaves his family for a barmaid.

A man fights council plans to demolish his home to make way for a new bypass.

The story of a defiant football manager in terminal decline

As a playwright dictates notes about his newest play to his secretary, scenes from the play are acted out.

Was this the finest hour? Sifting the truth and fiction about the Battle of Britain, Burrows and Harding give their own account of how the nation sees its heroes - and itself.

David Adler is an operator. He strips assets, other men's wives, and his oldest friend's soul - anything for a cool million.

Malcolmson spends every Sunday taking his children to the zoo, reflecting on the breakdown of his marriage and the events that brought about his divorce. Is there a chance the family can be brought back together?

The trials of an overworked and underappreciated housecleaner

"I'm the judge's daughter - I think he's a monstrous old man. I think all men who say 'I'm only doing my job' are monstrous. I've despaired of changing him. But I'd stop short of killing him."

Three underachievers have fun at a school speech day

"Fifteen years since I was forced t' leave, forced t' leave me roots, the territory of me heart." When Gerry takes his fiancée Nita home to Brighouse, what will they find?

Are Maggie and Tony using each other as a means of communicating with Dr Leafer? Or are they using Dr Leafer as a means of communicating with each other?

Edward G. is nothing like a film star; his life has been ordinary - until now. But he's just had a shattering experience. This edition is missing from the BBC archives.

The problems of four people sharing an apartment

Everyone always looked after Maureen. But her husband comes home after two years in prison and finds she has grown up and he's not ready for the change.

They no longer live together because, after 11 years, the marriage is over. So why is she always turning up to see him at the most embarrassing times? And why doesn't he send her away?