
Michael Jayston
Actor · 1935 – 2024 · Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK
Michael James (born 29 October 1935), known professionally as Michael Jayston, was an English actor. He played Nicholas II of Russia in the film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He has also made many television appearances, which have included playing the Valeyard in all fourteen episodes of the Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord (1986) and appearing in the Only Fools and Horses episode "Time on Our Hands" (1996) as Raquel's father, James.
Series24
TV7.5CrimeDramaThe peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
Midsomer Murders
1997 · 375 votes
TV5.4SoapThe residents of Coronation Street are ordinary, working-class people, and the show follows them through regular social and family interactions at home, in the workplace, and in their local pub, the Rovers Return Inn. Britain's longest-running soap.
Coronation Street
1960 · 118 votes
TV5.8SoapDramaDrama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.
Holby City
1999 · 48 votes
TV7.9DramaAction & AdventureThe 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 spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
Doctor Who
1963 · 722 votes
TV6.2DramaSoapDrama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.
Casualty
1986 · 88 votes
TV5.2DramaA BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983.
BBC Play of the Month
1965 · 8 votes
TV5.7DramaCrown Court is an afternoon television courtroom drama produced by Granada Television for the ITV network that ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wales, to 1984.
Crown Court
1972 · 6 votes
TV7.2CrimeDramaSet during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.
Heartbeat
1992 · 33 votes
TV6.7DramaA British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.
Tales of the Unexpected
1979 · 54 votes
TV8.2CrimeDramaSherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.
Sherlock Holmes
1984 · 270 votes
TV7.9MysteryDramaAs WW2 rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the south coast of England. Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940. Later series sees the retired detective working as an MI5 agent operating in the aftermath of the war.
Foyle's War
2002 · 111 votes
TV5.2DramaAn anthology series of television plays which aired on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured.
The Wednesday Play
1964 · 5 votes
TV7.0DramaITV 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.
ITV Playhouse
1967 · 3 votes
TV7.0Anthology series of dramatic works.
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969 · 3 votes
- TV5.1
The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.
Film '72
1971 · 8 votes
TV6.6DramaMysteryThe Ruth Rendell mysteries is a British television series made by TVS and Meridian Television for ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000.
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987 · 12 votes
TV7.0DramaComedyAn anthology of plays and novels adapted into feature length TV movies, broadcast on BBC2 from September 1977 to April 1979.
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977 · 1 votes
TV7.0DramaCrimeThriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits.
Thriller
1973 · 12 votes
TV7.7Sci-Fi & FantasyDramaA secret, high-technology international agency called SHADO defends Earth from alien invaders.
UFO
1970 · 62 votes
TV5.0DramaWar & PoliticsChurchill's People is a British anthology series based on A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill's four-volume history of Britain and its former colonies. 26 episodes were produced by the BBC and initially broadcast from 30 December 1974 to 23 June 1975.
Churchill's People
1974 · 2 votes
TV7.5CrimeDramaCompelling crime anthology looks at some of Britain's most notorious murder trials, in which both male and female defendants stood accused of the murder of women. Presented by Robert Morley, seven hour-long dramas reconstruct sensational trials which shocked Britain, offering in-depth analyses of individuals' motives and methods.
Lady Killers
1980 · 2 votes
TV7.9ComedyDramaAn idyllic picture of 1950's rural England as seen through the lives of the Larkins, a farm family living in Kent. The show revolves around Pa Larkin, a man of a kind and mischievous nature with a penchant for getting into scrapes and talking his way out of them with equal equanimity; and his daughters, as they deal with growing up and discovering the joys and sorrows of young love.
The Darling Buds of May
1991 · 24 votes
TV7.5ComedyDramaThe activities of the staff at The Junior Gazette, a children's weekly newspaper produced by a group of school pupils.
Press Gang
1989 · 14 votes
TV7.0Action & AdventureDramaCallan is the title of a British television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television and later Thames Television, it was aired on the ITV network over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. The series starred Edward Woodward as David Callan, a reluctant professional killer for a shadowy branch of the British Government's intelligence services known as 'the Section'.
Callan
1967 · 10 votes
Movies21
Movie4.7FantasyActionDeceived that he had won the Prize, Connor MacLeod wanders through the world; however, he is awakened from his peaceful life when an entombed immortal magician, Kane, escapes and comes seeking the Highlander.
Highlander III: The Sorcerer
1994 · 568 votes
Movie6.1AdventureDramaIn 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.
Zulu Dawn
1979 · 121 votes
Movie6.9DramaWarTsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971 · 81 votes
Movie6.6DramaHistoryDisgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.
Cromwell
1970 · 109 votes
Movie6.3FamilyFantasyAn all-star cast highlights this vibrant musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll's immortal tale. One day, plucky young Alice follows a white rabbit down a hole and discovers a world of bizarre characters.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
1972 · 50 votes
Movie7.8ComedyRomanceA strait-laced British banker hires an eccentric private detective to follow his free-spirited American wife, whom he suspects is cheating on him.
Follow Me!
1972 · 12 votes
Movie5.5HorrorComedyEnigmatic asylum owner Dr Tremayne houses four very special cases. Visited by his colleague Nicholas, Tremayne explains his amazing and controversial theories as to why each patient went mad, be they a ritualistic 'luau', a time-travelling bicycle, a toy tiger, and a tree stump.
Tales That Witness Madness
1973 · 55 votes
Movie5.9ThrillerDramaOffered a job as a presidential adviser, a professor is forced to dispose of those who knew him when he was a spy.
The Internecine Project
1974 · 29 votes
Movie6.6ComedyFantasyPeter Hall's film adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy, filmed in and around an English country house and starring actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1968 · 13 votes
Movie8.5DramaTV MovieAn Edwardian take on the Shakespeare play starring Laurence Olivier.
The Merchant of Venice
1973 · 2 votes
Movie7.3DocumentaryReflecting Peter O'Toole's theatrical legacy, this feature documentary is structured into four acts, each introduced by a quote about O'Toole that encapsulates his life during a specific period.
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
2022 · 7 votes
Movie8.5DocumentaryLondon has always been a source of influence, inspiration and curiosity - Finisterre tries to identify the dreams that London holds for so many. Presented and scored by Saint Etienne, the film enraptures with a journey through the ultimate city of possibilities - from John Nash and Berthold Lubetkin to Hendon FC and Hampstead Heath via the New Piccadilly cafe. A genuinely moving meditation on the capital in all its tawdry glory, with extra features and deluxe booklet
Finisterre
2003 · 2 votes
Movie5.9AdventureActionIn the 19th century, an expert marine biologist is hired by the government to determine what's sinking ships all over the ocean. His daughter follows him. They are intercepted by a mysterious captain Nemo and his incredible submarine.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1997 · 28 votes
Movie6.0DramaMacbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Macbeth
1970 · 1 votes
Movie4.6DramaHistoryThis heroic story follows the life of Karol Wojtyla, a Polish Roman catholic who ascends the throne of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II. As a young boy, Karol is a bright and talented student. Archbishop Sapieha recognizes the very special, moving qualities Karol possesses and encourages him to consider the priesthood. Although determined to study Polish literature, Karol turns to the church; he is ordained and studies in Italy, France, and Belgium. Torn by fear and repression in post-Stalin Eastern Europe, Karol becomes a poisonous thorn in the communists' side. His deer reverence and commitment return him to Poland as Pope John Paul II.
From a Far Country
1981 · 13 votes
Movie6.5DramaHistorySet before the Battle of Trafalgar, this is the story of relationship between Admiral Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton during the Napoleonic Wars.
Bequest to the Nation
1973 · 4 votes
MovieDocumentaryThe Making of The Trial of a Time Lord was the umbrella title for a series of four 2|entertain documentaries. Each covered a different story within the larger fourteen-part serial The Trial of a Time Lord. An instalment of the series was found on each DVD of the The Trial of a Time Lord box set.
Movie6.0DocumentaryThe story of one of Britain's most celebrated actors of the 20th century, told by those who knew and admired him.
Alec Guinness: A Class Act
2024 · 1 votes
- Movie8.3DramaThriller
Jack Warden is back as quirky detective Harry Fox, who becomes a suspect in a murder case while on holiday in England.
Still Crazy Like a Fox
1987 · 4 votes
Movie6.5ThrillerA woman has doubts about the intentions of her husband, even to the point where she thinks he might kill her.
Element of Doubt
1996 · 4 votes
Movie6.2DramaIn a dreary North London flat, the site of perpetual psychological warfare, a philosophy professor visits his family after a nine-year absence and introduces the four men - father, uncle and two brothers - to his wife.
The Homecoming
1973 · 14 votes