Play for Today: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Play for Today Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
The Reporters
Oct 9, 1972
Two provincial newspaper reporters - one a young idealist starting out on his career, the other an embittered man who previously wrote for a failed national daily - swap views.
A Life Is for Ever
Oct 16, 1972
The story of a man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing a cop
Triple Exposure
Nov 6, 1972
A hippie breaks into the house of a middle-aged couple and forms a relationship with them
Better than the Movies
Nov 13, 1972
A man celebrating his birthday comes to appreciate the difference between media fantasy and mundane reality.
Just Your Luck
Dec 4, 1972
A pregnant teenager sets about wooing a sailor in a sectarian council estate in Greenock.
The Bouncing Boy
Dec 11, 1972
A young couple have a baby boy. However, the new father doesn't take to his new position quite as well as expected.
Shakespeare or Bust
Jan 8, 1973
The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge
Land of Green Ginger
Jan 15, 1973
Faced with the prospect of being sent to work abroad, Sally Brown returns home from London to Hull, to see if she still feels the same attachment for her home town - and for her ol
Highway Robbery
Jan 29, 1973
A man fights council plans to demolish his home to make way for a new bypass.
Song at Twilight
Feb 5, 1973
The story of a defiant football manager in terminal decline
Only Make Believe
Feb 12, 1973
As a playwright dictates notes about his newest play to his secretary, scenes from the play are acted out.
For Sylvia or The Air Show
Feb 19, 1973
Was this the finest hour? Sifting the truth and fiction about the Battle of Britain, Burrows and Harding give their own account of how the nation sees its heroes - and itself.
The Operation
Feb 26, 1973
David Adler is an operator. He strips assets, other men's wives, and his oldest friend's soul - anything for a cool million.
Access to the Children
Mar 5, 1973
Malcolmson spends every Sunday taking his children to the zoo, reflecting on the breakdown of his marriage and the events that brought about his divorce. Is there a chance the fami
Man Above Men
Mar 19, 1973
"I'm the judge's daughter - I think he's a monstrous old man. I think all men who say 'I'm only doing my job' are monstrous. I've despaired of changing him. But I'd stop short of k
Steps Back
May 14, 1973
"Fifteen years since I was forced t' leave, forced t' leave me roots, the territory of me heart." When Gerry takes his fiancée Nita home to Brighouse, what will they find?
Three's One
Jun 4, 1973
Are Maggie and Tony using each other as a means of communicating with Dr Leafer? Or are they using Dr Leafer as a means of communicating with each other?
Edward G.--Like the Film Star
Jun 11, 1973
Edward G. is nothing like a film star; his life has been ordinary - until now. But he's just had a shattering experience. This edition is missing from the BBC archives.
The Stretch
Jun 25, 1973
Everyone always looked after Maureen. But her husband comes home after two years in prison and finds she has grown up and he's not ready for the change.
Making the Play
Jul 2, 1973
They no longer live together because, after 11 years, the marriage is over. So why is she always turning up to see him at the most embarrassing times? And why doesn't he send her a