Play for Today: Series 4
Season 4 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 3.
- 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 4 Progress Shield
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Oct 18, 1973 · 75 min
Mrs Palfrey tries hard to be accepted by the other residents at the Claremont. But then she meets Ludo and a real friendship begins.
Her Majesty's Pleasure
Oct 25, 1973 · 75 min
They are all 'in' for life so the pleasures are sparse, and strictly of their own making. Their really big event is the Christmas pantomime, only this year they have lost their sta
Jack Point
Nov 1, 1973 · 75 min
An amateur operatic society is preparing a Gilbert and Sullivan production, and someone new is needed for the role of Jack Point - but who will break this to the veteran who's alwa
The Emergency Channel
Nov 8, 1973 · 75 min
Dean has a rare talent. He can be made happy. He exudes happiness and confidence like a rare blossom. Both Sarah in the past, and Julia now, could do this for him. But where are th
Mummy and Daddy
Nov 15, 1973 · 75 min
An early retirement and a seaside bungalow-for Arthur and Marion it's not a chance to miss, especially since their son is buying the bungalow. Arthur's full of plans - GCE, garden,
Private Practice
Nov 22, 1973 · 75 min
Why does Sylvia Payne , with her successful husband and luxurious home, get in such a flap about her daughter's school friend coming to visit?
Shutdown
Nov 29, 1973 · 75 min
Bernie gets a temporary job as an electrician during a factory's annual minimal workforce period. But what secrets is Bernie hiding, and is he really all he claims?
Baby Blues
Dec 6, 1973 · 75 min
After ten years of trying, Lavinia, and a large team of medics, finally manage to produce a live baby. She should now be able to start living her dream, but what happens next is no
Jingle Bells
Dec 13, 1973 · 75 min
Family Christmas, presents, drink, Christmas Eve at the club, Boxing Day football - but, among the celebrations, some hard home-truths.
The Lonely Man's Lover
Jan 17, 1974 · 75 min
A young farmgirl begins a romance with an artist
All Good Men
Jan 31, 1974 · 75 min
An elderly politician looks back over his career while being interviewed by a TV producer.
Joe's Ark
Feb 14, 1974 · 75 min
A pet shop owner forsakes his religious beliefs when his daughter gets cancer
Hot Fat
Feb 21, 1974 · 75 min
Sauna baths are supposed to relax you, but it rather depends who you meet in there.
Easy Go
Mar 7, 1974 · 75 min
A group of Deptford youngsters hang about by the River Thames on a hot day. When they and some nearby dockers spot a valuable copper boiler floating in the river the two rival fact
Headmaster
Mar 14, 1974 · 75 min
Fisher is good at his job but in new circumstances that isn't enough: he has to face the risks of competition for something bigger.
Penda's Fen
Mar 21, 1974 · 75 min
Summer 1955, and pastor's son Stephen must come to terms with his own identity amid societal pressure, religious guilt and his own imaginings. Penda's Fen is a British television
Pigeon--Hawk or Dove?
Mar 28, 1974 · 75 min
At the climax of the School Sports something went drastically wrong. Now, Wallace Pidgeon faces the contradictory demands of the bird-watching headmaster, his pupils, his pork-magn
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
Jun 6, 1974 · 75 min
The exploitation of the Scottish land and its people from the 18th century to the present
The Childhood Friend
Jun 27, 1974 · 75 min
On holiday, with his family, nothing to do and his wife ill, Sasha is only too pleased to meet again the girl he loved at 17.
A Follower for Emily
Jul 4, 1974 · 75 min
The friendship of two residents of a retirement home ends up in marriage