Adrian Lester

The Day After Tomorrow

After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.

Mutiny

After witnessing his billionaire boss' murder and being framed for the crime, Cole Reed boards a cargo ship on a one-man crusade to avenge his boss' death only to discover an international conspiracy.

Doomsday

The lethal Reaper virus spreads throughout Britain—infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Authorities brutally and successfully quarantine the country but, three decades later, the virus resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.

Case 39

In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.

Mary Queen of Scots

In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.

Primary Colors

In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.

Ballet Shoes

An unusual explorer named Gum and his kindly niece adopt three orphans -- Pauline, Petrova and Posy -- and raise them as sisters in 1930s London. But the girls must fend for themselves when Gum doesn't return from one of his adventures. Together, they nurture their passions for acting, aviation and ballet in this charming TV adaptation of Noel Streatfield's novel.

National Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet

An adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy set in modern-day Italy where two young lovers strive to transcend a violent world where Catholic and secular values clash.

The Day After Tomorrow

After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.

Mutiny

After witnessing his billionaire boss' murder and being framed for the crime, Cole Reed boards a cargo ship on a one-man crusade to avenge his boss' death only to discover an international conspiracy.

Doomsday

The lethal Reaper virus spreads throughout Britain—infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands. Authorities brutally and successfully quarantine the country but, three decades later, the virus resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.

Case 39

In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.

Mary Queen of Scots

In 1561, Mary Stuart, widow of the King of France, returns to Scotland, reclaims her rightful throne and menaces the future of Queen Elizabeth I as ruler of England, because she has a legitimate claim to the English throne. Betrayals, rebellions, conspiracies and their own life choices imperil both Queens. They experience the bitter cost of power, until their tragic fate is finally fulfilled.

Primary Colors

In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.

Ballet Shoes

An unusual explorer named Gum and his kindly niece adopt three orphans -- Pauline, Petrova and Posy -- and raise them as sisters in 1930s London. But the girls must fend for themselves when Gum doesn't return from one of his adventures. Together, they nurture their passions for acting, aviation and ballet in this charming TV adaptation of Noel Streatfield's novel.

National Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet

An adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy set in modern-day Italy where two young lovers strive to transcend a violent world where Catholic and secular values clash.

Grey Lady

A Boston police officer goes to Nantucket to investigate the murder of his partner, but he finds more than he bargained for.

Angel Pavement

A tale from Quentin Blake's Box of Treasures. Corky and Loopy are two ordinary girls who happen to also be secret angels! With the aid of a magic pencil that can draw in the air, they go on 'angel patrol;, amazing people in their town with beautiful art and rescuing the odd animal. When they meet street artist Sid, they decide to help him take part in a local drawing competition by lending him the special pencil. Sid creates incredible drawings in the sky and brings joy and wonder to all.

Storm Damage

A young teacher returns to the children’s care home where he grew up, and becomes involved with the lives of the troubled teenage children.

Euphoria

The story of two sisters on a journey, where they try to get close to each other and approach the tough questions in life. Euphoria is a contemporary drama about responsibility and reconciliation, in a world where these concepts are gradually being lost.

Les Sœurs Soleil

This gently satirical French comedy centers on the resulting brouhaha that erupts when the preadolescent daughter of a very conservative bourgeoisie couple gets the chance to appear in a raucous music video starring a raunchy, aging female rocker. When pipe-puffing patriarch and solid citizen Brice learns that his daughter Clemence has been to selected for the music video with tacky has-been rocker Gloria, he nearly comes unglued. His prim wife, Benedicte, the organist for the local congregation, has a different perspective and understands her daughter's eagerness. She quietly agrees to secretly accompany Clemence during the shoot. Once there, the two are filmed dancing around and having fun. Neither realize that they will become special-effects victims by time production on the film ends and find themselves apparently dancing amongst men who but for the presence of small rubber sea creatures, would be buck naked.

As You Like It

Witty, playful and utterly magical, the story is a compelling romantic adventure in which Rosalind and Orlando's celebrated courtship is played out against a backdrop of political rivalry, banishment and exile in the Forest of Arden - set in 19th-century Japan.

Love's Labour's Lost

A scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.

Touch and Die

Martin Sheen stars as an American newsman in Rome who begins to investigate the appearance of several corpses found throughout Europe with their hands cut off. He soon uncovers not only plots of plutonium theft, but also of nuclear arms deals and dark political schemes.

Breakable You

A divorced playwright and his therapist ex deal with new relationships and their daughter.

Sleep with Me

A couple are torn apart when a French woman enters their loves and pulls them into personal a game of lust and obsession.

David Harewood on Blackface

At its peak, The Black and White Minstrel Show was watched by a Saturday night audience of more than 20 million people. David Harewood goes on a mission to understand the roots of this strange, intensely problematic cultural form: where did the show come from, and what made it popular for so long? With the help of historians, actors and musicians, David uncovers how, at its core, blackface minstrelsy was simply an attempt to make racism into an art form - and can be traced back to a name and a date.

Jimi: All Is by My Side

A drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.

Scenes of a Sexual Nature

Sex and love. Some seek it, some need it, some spurn it and some pay for it, but we're all involved in it. Set on one afternoon on Hampstead Heath in north-west London, the film investigates the minutiae of seven couples. What makes us tick?

Maybe Baby

Sam and Lucie Bell are a married couple who seem to have it all: good looks, successful careers, matching motorbikes, and an enthusiastic love life. The only thing they lack is the one thing they want more—a baby.

The Final Curtain

The Final Curtain is a British film from 2002 directed by Patrick Harkins and starring Peter O'Toole. It tells the story of J. J. Curtis, ageing gameshow host played by O'Toole, who hires novelist Jonathan Stitch (Adrian Lester) to pen his biography, in the hope of sealing his immortality in the hearts and minds of the British public. This is made more difficult by his rivalry with fellow gameshow host Dave Turner (Aidan Gillen), and events from his past.

Up on the Roof

Five friends who meet at Hull University in the late 1970's and form a barbershop-style quartet. They blow their chance to sing at a graduation gig and vow to meet fifteen years later at the Cote d'Azur villa of one of their parents.

Horizon

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

The Graham Norton Show

Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

Great Performances

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Natural World

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

The Sandman

After years of imprisonment, Morpheus — the King of Dreams — embarks on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.

Merlin

The unlikely friendship between Merlin, a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers, and Prince Arthur, heir to the crown of Camelot.

Hustle

A motley group of London con artists pull of a series of daring and intricate stings.

Girlfriends

A friend group of black women face life's tests and triumphs together. From dating to divorce, and friends to family to relationships, Joan, Maya, Lynn and Toni support each other despite their differing backgrounds.

Remembers…

What are the secrets of our favourite TV shows? Famous names from both sides of the camera reflect on making some of the most popular and influential programs of all time.

Performance

An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.

Riviera

After newlywed Georgina's billionaire husband Constantine is killed in a yacht explosion, she is shocked to discover the fortune and lifestyle he maintained was surrounded by violence, lies and murder. She soon must step out of her comfort zone to protect the family...and herself.

Renegade Nell

England, 1705: Framed for murder and on the run with her sisters, Nell Jackson turns her hand to highway robbery to survive. Aided by her superpowered sidekick, a plucky little sprite called Billy Blind, Nell realizes that fate has put her on the wrong side of the law for a reason. A reason much bigger than she could have ever imagined: to defeat a magical plot against the Queen of England.

PONIES

In 1977 Moscow, two "PONIES" ("persons of no interest") become CIA operatives and uncover a Cold War conspiracy their husbands were killed for.

Staged

David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) were due to star in a production of 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' in the West End. The pandemic has put an end to that, but their director (Simon Evans) is determined not to let the opportunity pass them by.

Trigger Point

For London's bomb disposal experts, no day is ever the same as they risk their lives protecting the city from harm.

The Hack

Set between 2002 and 2012, the drama deftly interweaves two real life stories, the uncovering of phone hacking at the News of the World, and running parallel, the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.

The Undeclared War

In the post-pandemic world of 2024 during an upcoming British general election involving the UK’s first Black Conservative prime minister, a leading team of analysts at the heart of the UK’s NSA-style spy agency GCHQ attempt to ward off a cyber-attack on the country’s electoral system.

Jason and the Argonauts

At a young age, Jason witnesses the brutal deposement and murder of his father at the hands of his uncle Pelias. Twenty years later, Jason returns home to claim his rightful place as king, but Pelias orders him to be executed, and in order to save himself Jason is forced to go on a dangerous quest to find the legendary Golden Fleece. So Jason gathers a motley crew of men and sets sail on the Argos.

The Rook

After waking in a park with total amnesia — and surrounded by dead bodies, all wearing latex gloves — a young woman must fight to uncover her past, and resume her position at the head of Britain’s most secret (supernatural) service before the traitors who stole her memory can finish what they started.

London Spy

A chance romance between two men from very different worlds, one from the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the other from a world of clubbing and youthful excess, leads into mystery after one of them suddenly disappears.

Afterlife

University lecturer Robert Bridge becomes involved in a series of supernatural events surrounding medium Alison Mundy.

Red Band Society

Children and teenagers become friends in a hospital where they are all patients. Together they try to escape the sad reality to create their own world with their own codes , while the nursing staff do their best to bring them a little happiness everyday. Charlie , in a coma for several months, attending meanwhile helplessly bustle around him. He sees nothing , but he hears everything ...

Life

Follow the lives and woes of the residents of a Manchester house divided into four different flats. Gemma Foster's neighbour, Emma, now goes by the name of Belle, looking to start a new life. Three other interconnected stories tell a tale of love, loss, birth, death, the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between.

Bonekickers

Bonekickers was a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It made its début on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series. It was written by Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah. It was produced by Michele Buck and Damien Timmer of Mammoth Screen Ltd and co-produced with Monastic Productions. Archaeologist and Bristol University academic Mark Horton acted as the series' archaeological consultant. Adrian Lester has described the programme as "CSI meets Indiana Jones [...] There's an element of the crime procedural show, there's science, conspiracy theories – and there's a big underlying mystery that goes through the whole six-episode series." Much of the series was filmed in the City of Bath, Somerset, with locations including the University of Bath campus. Additional locations included Brean Down Fort and Kings Weston House, Chavenage House for episodes 5 & 6 and Sheldon Manor. On 21 November 2008 Broadcast magazine revealed the show would not be returning for a second series.