Best TV series

It is often said that we’re in a golden era for television drama, but there are plenty of gems from the past to enjoy, too. Here are some classic British TV dramas currently available to stream:

Our Friends in the North

This superb nine-part BBC series follows the lives of four Geordie friends from their youth in the 1960s to middle age, and charts the demise of the old Labour movement in the process. First screened in 1996, it stars Daniel Craig and Christopher Eccleston, among others. On BritBox.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Carried by Alec Guinness’s hypnotic performance as spymaster George Smiley, the BBC’s 1979 adaptation of John le Carré’s espionage novel is still unmatched in its evocation of the cynical Cold War era. On Amazon Prime.

Brideshead Revisited

This sumptuous 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel remains a benchmark for TV costume drama. Jeremy Irons stars as the middle class, atheist Charles Ryder, who at Oxford in the 1920s becomes infatuated with a family of Catholic aristocrats. John Gielgud is among the stars.

On BritBox.

Queer as Folk

Following the intertwining lives of three young men on Manchester’s gay scene – ultra-confident Stuart (Aidan Gillen), shy Vince (Craig Kelly) and newcomer Nathan (Charlie Hunnam) – this warm and funny 1999 series from writer Russell T. Davies was one of the first British dramas to actively celebrate queer life and culture. On BritBox.

This is England 86/88/90

Building on his 1983-set film about a group of misfits growing up in a northern town, Shane Meadows broadens and deepens the scope of his drama as he follows the characters over the next few years. The three series are among the most affecting of the past decade.

On All4.