Michael Robbins

Michael Robbins

Born in London, Robbins was a bank clerk who became an actor after appearing in amateur dramatic performances in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where he and his family lived at the time. Robbins made his television debut as the cockney soldier in Roll-on Bloomin' Death. Primarily a comedy actor, he is best remembered for the role of Arthur Rudge, the persistently sarcastic husband of Olive (Anna Karen), in the popular sitcom On the Buses (1969–73). Robbins and Karen provided the secondary comic storyline to Reg Varney's comedy capers at the bus depot. Robbins also appeared in the series film spin-offs, On the Buses, Mutiny on the Buses, and Holiday on the Buses. His other comedy credits include non-recurring roles in Man About the House, Oh Brother!, The Good Life, One Foot in the Grave, The New Statesman, George and Mildred, Hi-de-Hi! and You Rang, M'Lord? He appeared as a rather humorously portrayed police sergeant in the TV adaptation of Brendon Chase. As well as these comic roles, he assumed various straight roles in some of the major British television shows of the 1960s and 1970s: including Minder, The Sweeney, Z-Cars, Return of the Saint, Murder Most English, The Avengers, Dixon of Dock Green, The Bill and the 1982 Doctor Who story The Visitation. Robbins's film credits included The Whisperers, Up The Junction, The Looking Glass War, Zeppelin and Blake Edwards' films The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Victor/Victoria'. He also had an extensive career as a radio actor, including a role in the soap opera Waggoner's Walk and the satirical 1970s show Life is What Yer Make It. Robbins was an indefatigable worker for charity. He was active in the Grand Order of Water Rats (being elected 'Rat of the Year' in 1978) and the Catholic Stage Guild, and received a Papal Award for his services in 1987. In one of his last television appearances, in A Little Bit of Heaven Robbins recalled his childhood visits to Norfolk and spoke of his faith and love of the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. Michael Robbins had a brother Jack who was a head teacher at Saint Gregory's Catholic middle school in Bedford in the 1970s and early 1980s. Michael made some guest appearances at this school throughout the years and sometimes entertained the pupils with various sketches with his brother Jack Robbins In the mid-1970s he also directed a film: How Are You?

  • Title: Michael Robbins
  • Popularity: 5.244
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1930-11-14
  • Place of Birth: London, England, UK
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As:
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Michael Robbins Movies

  • 1962
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    You in Your Small Corner

    You in Your Small Corner

    1 1962 HD

    Barry Reckord adapted his stage play for TV and his brother Lloyd plays the central character – a Jamaican new to London. When he begins a...

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  • 1972
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    Mutiny on the Buses

    Mutiny on the Buses

    7.5 1972 HD

    Bus driver Stan Butler agrees to marry Suzy, much to the anguish of Mum, her son-in-law, Arthur, and daughter Olive. How, they wonder, will they ever...

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  • 1964
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    The Bone Yard

    The Bone Yard

    1 1964 HD

    Extraordinary things happen at an ordinary police station.

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  • 1969
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    Till Death Us Do Part

    Till Death Us Do Part

    7.208 1969 HD

    The film version of 'Till Death Do Us Part' tells the story of Alf Garnett, his wife Else, and their newborn daughter Rita, living through the...

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  • 1970
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    The Hunting of Lionel Crane

    The Hunting of Lionel Crane

    1 1970 HD

    An army deserter hides out on a country estate but falls foul of the gamekeeper.

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  • 1968
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    The Drummer and the Bloke

    The Drummer and the Bloke

    1 1968 HD

    Alf and Jack, two labourers hired to work in a quarry,have decided to go on strike because of the degrading nature of the job.

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  • 1971
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    On the Buses

    On the Buses

    6.3 1971 HD

    Stan gets a little annoyed when his Mum and Sister keep buying expensive items on hire purchase, but the money he earns for overtime working as a bus...

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  • 1973
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    Holiday on the Buses

    Holiday on the Buses

    7.7 1973 HD

    Due to a female passenger falling out of her top whilst running for the bus Stan is distracted and crashes the bus resulting in the depot managers...

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  • 1982
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    Victor/Victoria

    Victor/Victoria

    7.3 1982 HD

    A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.

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  • 1964
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    The Bargee

    The Bargee

    6.8 1964 HD

    After a lock-keeper entrusts his daughter to a canal Casanova, he is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. He then refuses to open his locks -...

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  • 1965
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    Dead Man's Chest

    Dead Man's Chest

    5.7 1965 HD

    Two young journalists simulate a murder, but the scheme backfires when the mock victim disappears.

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  • 1964
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    The Count of Monte Cristo

    The Count of Monte Cristo

    1 1964 HD

    A TV adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel. Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune, and is sentenced to...

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  • 1969
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    Crossplot

    Crossplot

    5.5 1969 HD

    A successful London ad-exec hires a beautiful Hungarian girl to pose for some modeling shots, little realising that she has overheard an...

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  • 1964
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    Children of the Damned

    Children of the Damned

    6.108 1964 HD

    Six children are found spread through out the world that not only have enormous intelligence, but identical intelligence and have a strange bond to...

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  • 1992
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    Adam Bede

    Adam Bede

    7.3 1992 HD

    Rich and languorous, this adaptation of George Eliot's classic tale perfectly evokes rural England in the 18th Century. But beneath the tranquil...

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  • 1979
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    The Saint and the Brave Goose

    The Saint and the Brave Goose

    1 1979 HD

    A two-part episode of the 1978 TV series "The Return of the Saint," edited together and released as a feature.

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  • 1962
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    A Prize of Arms

    A Prize of Arms

    6.563 1962 HD

    A criminal gang sets out to pull off the heist of a large army payroll.

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  • 1968
    imgMovies

    Horizontal Hold

    Horizontal Hold

    1 1968 HD

    A woman writes a book about sex and marriage and it becomes a best seller.

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  • 1961
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    Danger! Men Working

    Danger! Men Working

    1 1961 HD

    In Ulster, Major Trumbull is put in charge of overseeing the completion of a hospital on time. As the pressure increases, he replaces well-liked...

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  • 1962
    imgMovies

    Lunch Hour

    Lunch Hour

    6.8 1962 HD

    A young female designer is on the brink of an affair with a married male executive at the company where she works. The film tells the story of their...

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  • 1973
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    Soap Opera in Stockwell

    Soap Opera in Stockwell

    1 1973 HD

    A baby is snatched from outside a launderette. The manageress and customers try to work out who was responsible.

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  • 1973
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    No Sex Please: We're British

    No Sex Please: We're British

    5.1 1973 HD

    A porn-store owner orders some new stuff from his supplier, but the delivery address gets mixed with the address of the local Barclays Bank. Here,...

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Villain

    Villain

    6.2 1971 HD

    In 1970s London, Scotland Yard orchestrates the downfall of mob boss Vic Dakin after he crosses the line by blackmailing Members of Parliament.

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  • 1970
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    The Looking Glass War

    The Looking Glass War

    5.5 1970 HD

    When a Polish sailor jumps ship in Britain, a couple of local intelligence operatives keep him under surveillance. Soon, he’s recruited to...

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  • 1974
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    Man About the House

    Man About the House

    5.1 1974 HD

    An unscrupulous property developer wants to flatten the street to make way for new buildings. Householder George Roper is happy to take the offered...

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  • 1988
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    Just Ask for Diamond

    Just Ask for Diamond

    4.3 1988 HD

    Thirteen-year-old Nick and his slightly dense older brother Herbert run the Diamond Private Detective Agency above Camden Town Tube Station in...

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  • 1976
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    The Pink Panther Strikes Again

    The Pink Panther Strikes Again

    6.8 1976 HD

    Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get...

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  • 1981
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    The Great Muppet Caper

    The Great Muppet Caper

    6.8 1981 HD

    Kermit and Fozzie are newspaper reporters sent to London to interview Lady Holiday, a wealthy fashion designer whose priceless diamond necklace is...

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  • 1967
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    The Whisperers

    The Whisperers

    6.4 1967 HD

    Margaret Ross is an impoverished old woman who lives alone in a seedy apartment and enjoys a rich fantasy life as an heiress. One day she discovers...

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  • 1982
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    The Merry Wives of Windsor

    The Merry Wives of Windsor

    8 1982 HD

    When Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Window wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page....

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  • 1985
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    Lost In London

    Lost In London

    1 1985 HD

    Facing his parent's impending divorce and emotional upheaval, a young boy runs away and joins a gang of London street urchins who live by their wits,...

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  • 1964
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    Rattle of a Simple Man

    Rattle of a Simple Man

    4.8 1964 HD

    Percy Winthram is a naive young man who still lives at home with his mum. In London for the Cup Final with his friends, he finds himself in a Soho...

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  • 1970
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    All the Way Up

    All the Way Up

    6 1970 HD

    Fred Midway may be a bit short on brains, but he's got plenty of ambition. However, before he can gain promotion as a salesman, he must make his...

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  • 1963
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    What a Crazy World

    What a Crazy World

    6.6 1963 HD

    Unemployed East End lad Alf Hitchens has an on-off relationship with his girlfriend Marilyn and a dream of hitting the big time in the music...

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  • 1968
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    Up the Junction

    Up the Junction

    6 1968 HD

    A young woman trades her upper-class existence for a new life in an economically depressed suburb of London.

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Doctor Who: The Visitation

    Doctor Who: The Visitation

    7 1982 HD

    In 17th century England, the Doctor and itinerant thespian Richard Mace uncover a plot by a crew of criminal Terileptils to wipe out humanity.

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  • 1980
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    Murder Rap

    Murder Rap

    1 1980 HD

    Wally, a caretaker in a block of flats, loses his job when the flats are used to rehouse Bhengali families.

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  • 1972
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    That's Your Funeral

    That's Your Funeral

    1.5 1972 HD

    Two funeral parlours fight one another for business, one of whom is more shady than the other.

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Zeppelin

    Zeppelin

    6.3 1971 HD

    The outbreak of World War I places Scots officer Geoffrey Richter-Douglas in an uncomfortable position. Although his allegiance is to Britain, his...

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  • 1966
    imgS2 E13

    Adam Adamant Lives!

    Adam Adamant Lives!

    7.5 1966 HD

    Adam Adamant Lives! is a British television series which ran from 1966 to 1967 on the BBC, starring Gerald Harper in the title role. Proposing that...

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  • 1969
    imgS7 E13

    On the Buses

    On the Buses

    7.3 1969 HD

    On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers'...

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  • 1969
    imgS1 E28

    Department S

    Department S

    4.9 1969 HD

    Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in...

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  • 1984
    imgS26 E32

    The Bill

    The Bill

    6.6 1984 HD

    The daily lives of the men and women at Sun Hill Police Station as they fight crime on the streets of London. From bomb threats to armed robbery and...

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  • 1963
    imgS26 E14

    Doctor Who

    Doctor Who

    7.9 1963 HD

    The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling...

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  • 1962
    imgS12 E13

    Z-Cars

    Z-Cars

    7 1962 HD

    Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on...

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  • 1965
    imgS1 E26

    Gideon's Way

    Gideon's Way

    6.8 1965 HD

    Gideon's Way is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment in 1964/65, based on the novels by John Creasey. The series was made at...

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  • 1985
    imgS3 E10

    Dempsey and Makepeace

    Dempsey and Makepeace

    6.4 1985 HD

    Dempsey and Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. The...

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  • 1976
    imgS5 E8

    George and Mildred

    George and Mildred

    6.8 1976 HD

    A middle-aged housewife feels frustrated with her mean and miserable husband, the married couple adapting to life in an up-market housing estate.

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  • 1975
    imgS4 E14

    The Sweeney

    The Sweeney

    7.65 1975 HD

    Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.

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  • 1961
    imgS6 E33

    The Avengers

    The Avengers

    7.7 1961 HD

    The Avengers is a British television series created in the 1960s. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed. Hendry left...

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  • 1975
    imgS4 E7

    The Good Life

    The Good Life

    7.6 1975 HD

    Tom and Barbara Good escape the rat race and pursue a self-sufficient lifestyle in Surbiton, much to the concern, frustration and sometimes envy of...

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  • 1981
    imgS2 E8

    The Chinese Detective

    The Chinese Detective

    7.25 1981 HD

    Chinese British Detective Sergeant John Ho solves cases in the East End of London. Ho fits the pattern of the maverick detective, prepared to use...

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  • 1975
    imgS7 E6

    Rumpole of the Bailey

    Rumpole of the Bailey

    7.063 1975 HD

    Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It stars Leo McKern as...

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  • 1962
    imgS6 E20

    The Saint

    The Saint

    7.3 1962 HD

    Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those...

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  • 1967
    imgS4 E12

    Callan

    Callan

    7 1967 HD

    Callan is the title of a British television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television and later...

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  • 1990
    imgS6 E6

    One Foot In the Grave

    One Foot In the Grave

    7.513 1990 HD

    One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret....

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  • 1984
    imgS4 E8

    Fresh Fields

    Fresh Fields

    6.6 1984 HD

    Fresh Fields is a British situation comedy written by John T. Chapman and produced by Thames Television for ITV between 7 March 1984 and 23 October...

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  • 1964
    imgS2 E13

    Redcap

    Redcap

    6 1964 HD

    Redcap is a British television series produced by ABC Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network. It starred John Thaw as Sergeant John...

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  • 1959
    imgS10 E15

    No Hiding Place

    No Hiding Place

    3.7 1959 HD

    No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16...

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  • 1967
    imgS6 E7

    Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

    Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

    3.5 1967 HD

    Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width is a British television sitcom first broadcast in 1967 as a single play in the Armchair Theatre anthology...

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  • 1973
    imgS1 E6

    Black and Blue

    Black and Blue

    6 1973 HD

    Black and Blue was a BBC TV comedy-drama series, first broadcast in 1973. It was so named because of the black and blue humour. The show consisted...

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  • 1978
    imgS1 E37

    BBC Television Shakespeare

    BBC Television Shakespeare

    5.2 1978 HD

    The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and...

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  • 1964
    imgS2 E16

    Sherlock Holmes

    Sherlock Holmes

    6.4 1964 HD

    Sherlock Holmes is a series of Sherlock Holmes adaptations produced by British television company BBC between 1965 and 1968. This was the second...

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  • 1979
    imgS2 E7

    How's Your Father

    How's Your Father

    1 1979 HD

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  • 1969
    imgS1 E6

    Judge Dee

    Judge Dee

    5 1969 HD

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  • 1978
    imgS3 E9

    Mixed Blessings

    Mixed Blessings

    6.25 1978 HD

    Mixed Blessings is a British sitcom produced by LWT for broadcast on the ITV network between 1978 and 1980, It was created by comedy-writer Sid Green...

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  • 1974
    imgS1 E8

    Thick As Thieves

    Thick As Thieves

    6.5 1974 HD

    British ITV sitcom starring John Thaw and Bob Hoskins as two friends in a love triangle.

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  • 1962
    imgS2 E6

    Studio Four

    Studio Four

    6 1962 HD

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  • 1966
    imgS1 E7

    You Can't Win

    You Can't Win

    1 1966 HD

    You Can't Win was a 1966 British television series made by ITV as an adaptation of the novels Scenes from Provincial Life and Scenes from Married...

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  • 1977
    imgS1 E7

    Murder Most English

    Murder Most English

    5.5 1977 HD

    1970s detective series based on the Flaxborough novels by Colin Watson. Starring Anton Rodgers as Detective Inspector Purbright and Christopher...

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  • 1979
    imgS10 E10

    Minder

    Minder

    6.8 1979 HD

    This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye...

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  • 1984
    imgS2 E7

    Fairly Secret Army

    Fairly Secret Army

    6 1984 HD

    Fairly Secret Army is a British sitcom which ran to thirteen episodes over two series between 1984 and 1986. Though not a direct spin-off from The...

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  • 1979
    imgS7 E7

    The Cannon & Ball Show

    The Cannon & Ball Show

    1 1979 HD

    A comedy variety show featuring the double act of Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball.

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  • 1971
    imgS3 E13

    Justice

    Justice

    6 1971 HD

    Justice is a British drama television series which originally aired on ITV in 39 hour-long episodes between 8 August 1971 and 16 October 1974....

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  • 1979
    imgS4 E6

    Dick Turpin

    Dick Turpin

    7.3 1979 HD

    Richard O'Sullivan stars as Dick Turpin in this action-filled adventure series chronicling the exploits of England's most celebrated highwayman.

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  • 1982
    imgS2 E7

    The Bounder

    The Bounder

    6.333 1982 HD

    The Bounder is a British sitcom which ran from 16 April 1982 to 28 October 1983, made by Yorkshire Television. The series starred Peter Bowles as...

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  • 1969
    imgS4 E13

    The Main Chance

    The Main Chance

    8 1969 HD

    The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV between 1969,1970,1972 and 1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden...

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  • 1978
    imgS1 E24

    Return of the Saint

    Return of the Saint

    7 1978 HD

    Follow the swashbuckling exploits of Simon Templar, a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts.

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  • 1987
    imgS4 E6

    The New Statesman

    The New Statesman

    7.511 1987 HD

    The New Statesman is a British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time.

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  • 1965
    imgS2 E13

    The Man In Room 17

    The Man In Room 17

    5.5 1965 HD

    The Man in Room 17 is a British television series which ran for two seasons in the mid-1960s, produced by the Northern ITV franchise, Granada...

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  • 1962
    imgS6 E20

    The Saint

    The Saint

    7.3 1962 HD

    Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those...

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  • 1982
    imgS1 E6

    Legacy of Murder

    Legacy of Murder

    1 1982 HD

    Legacy of Murder is a British comedy television series which originally aired on BBC in six half-hour episodes between 16 February and 23 March 1982....

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  • 1961
    imgS6 E33

    The Avengers

    The Avengers

    7.7 1961 HD

    The Avengers is a British television series created in the 1960s. It initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed. Hendry left...

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  • 1982
    imgS1 E13

    Brendon Chase

    Brendon Chase

    5 1982 HD

    The three brothers Robin, John and Harold spend their vacations in 1925 on the country estate of their aunt Ellen. But instead of fun and games, the...

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  • 1990
    imgS4 E6

    You Rang, M'Lord?

    You Rang, M'Lord?

    7.4 1990 HD

    You Rang, M'Lord? is a British comedy series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi!...

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