Season 13 • Episode 10
LatestITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.
Writing
Potter, Sharp, Adrian—playwrights treating TV like serious literature.
Acting
Ian Hendry and Edward Woodward before they became household gods.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This series essentially created the template for Channel 4's 'The Wednesday Play' and BBC's 'Play for Today'—British television drama as national event.
Many episodes are lost forever due to ITV's brutal archival practices; surviving recordings are treated like holy relics by collectors.
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