The 40 most popular 1990s british TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Midsomer Murders
1997
country: United Kingdom
The 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.


Family Affairs
1997
country: United Kingdom
Focuses on the lives of residents in the fictional London suburb of Charnham.


Holby City
1999
country: United Kingdom
Drama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.


GMTV
1993
country: United Kingdom
GMTV is the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end. The final edition of GMTV was broadcast on 3 September 2010.


Loose Women
1999
country: United Kingdom
A panel of four women discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs to celebrity gossip.


Ready, Steady, Cook
1994
country: United Kingdom
Talented chefs battle it out against the clock, creating delicious dishes in 20 minutes
Pebble Mill
Pebble Mill
1991
country: United Kingdom
Pebble Mill was a re-launched version of the 1970s daily chat show Pebble Mill (also known as Pebble Mill At One for a while) which aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The series premiered on October 14, 1991. The show was a mixture of celebrity guests and music. Alan Titchmarsh was a presenter on the show throughout it's complete run. Other presenters included Judi Spiers, Gloria Hunniford and Ross King.


Have I Got News for You
1990
country: United Kingdom
Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.


Hollyoaks
1995
country: United Kingdom
The daily soap that follows the loves, lives and misdemeanours of a group of people living in the Chester village of Hollyoaks where anything could, and frequently does, happen...


Silent Witness
1996
country: United Kingdom
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
The Really Useful Show
The Really Useful Show
1996
country: United Kingdom
No overview available
Football Tonight
Football Tonight
1998
country: United Kingdom
No overview available


Behind the Music
1997
country: United Kingdom
An intimate look into the personal lives of pop music's greatest and most influential artists.


Peak Practice
1993
country: United Kingdom
Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time. It originally starred Kevin Whately as Dr Jack Kerruish, Amanda Burton as Dr Beth Glover and Simon Shepherd as Dr Will Preston, though the roster of doctors would change many times over the course of the series. Cardale was based on the Staffordshire village of Longnor for the final series, but was previously based in the Derbyshire village of Crich, although certain scenes were filmed at other nearby Derbyshire towns and villages, most notably Matlock, Belper and Ashover.


Heartbeat
1992
country: United Kingdom
Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.


A Touch of Frost
1992
country: United Kingdom
Jack Frost is a gritty, dogged and unconventional detective with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice who attracts trouble like a magnet. Despite some animosity with his superintendent, Norman “Horn-rimmed Harry” Mullett, Frost and his ever-changing roster of assistants manage to solve cases via his clever mind, good heart, and cool touch.


Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996
country: United Kingdom
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.


The Lost World
1999
country: Australia
Early 20th-century adventurers find themselves fighting for survival after their hot-air balloon crashes into a remote part of the Amazon, stranding them on a prehistoric plateau.


TOTP2
1994
country: United Kingdom
Fast-moving music show mixing classic performances from the Top of the Pops archives with exclusive live performances.


Bob the Builder
1999
country: United Kingdom
Bob the Builder and his machine team are ready to tackle any project. Bob and the Can-Do Crew demonstrate the power of positive thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and follow-through. The team always shows that “The Fun Is In Getting It Done!”


Mr. Bean
1990
country: United Kingdom
Mr Bean turns simple everyday tasks into chaotic situations and will leave you in stitches as he creates havoc wherever he goes.


Soccer AM
1995
country: United Kingdom
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League. Originally presented by Jane Hoffen, Gary Stevens and Russ Williams, they lasted just a year before Helen Chamberlain and Tim Lovejoy replaced them, where Lovejoy served for over a decade. He has since been replaced by Andy Goldstein and, more recently, Max Rushden. The show has been aired on Sky Sports 2 each Saturday morning of the football season since 1995 from 7:00am or 9:00am to noon originally and currently between 10:00am and 12:00pm. In early 2009, the 500th episode was broadcast. Although the show is filmed live from 2010 it has been broadcast on a momentary delay due to bad language and/or inappropriate content from certain guests. The show's current sponsor is Procter & Gamble through their Head & Shoulders brand. The show was previously sponsored by Frijj, a brand of milkshake, after Dairy Crest signed a £2 million sponsorship deal. Parts of the show have remained since the beginning, whilst new items have been introduced each season. In that respect, it is almost the same every week, the difference being new football footage and comedy skits. Every week sees a new group of celebrity guests, generally featuring at least one footballer who is free on the Saturday, and a mix of musicians, TV personalities, and other sportsmen.
The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show
1998
country: United Kingdom
The Heaven and Earth Show was a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues. Over the years it had numerous presenters, and its final presenter was Gloria Hunniford.


Later... with Jools Holland
1992
country: United Kingdom
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland.


Performance
1991
country: United Kingdom
An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances.


Dalziel and Pascoe
1996
country: United Kingdom
In the fictional Yorkshire town of Wetherton, the unlikely duo of politically incorrect elephant-in-a-China-shop-copper DS Andrew Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell) and his more sensitive and university educated sidekick DS, later DI, Peter Pascoe is always on hand to solve the classic murder mystery, while maintaining down-to-Earth wit and humour.


Eurotrash
1993
country: United Kingdom
The likes of Antoine de Caunes, Jean Paul Gaultier, Davina McCall, and Lolo Ferrari are your guides to the weird and wonderful in Europe and beyond. How else would you learn about pubic hairdressers, the Penis Olympics, or the latest Japanese sex toys?


Dream Team
1997
country: United Kingdom
On and off pitch battles of of the fictional Harchester United Football Club.


MTV Europe Music Awards
1994
country: United Kingdom
The MTV Europe Music Awards "(EMA)" were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider the best in music. The awards are chosen by MTV viewers throughout Europe. The MTV Europe Music Awards always changes its host city.


Grace Under Fire
1993
country: United States
Grace Kelly is a tough woman with kids to raise. A recently divorced recovering alcoholic, Grace struggles with the pressures of being a single mother supporting three children. Grace doesn't always handle situations with, well, grace, but she does get results.


The Tribe
1999
country: United Kingdom
All adults have been wiped out by a deadly virus, leaving the children of the world to fend for themselves.


Room 101
1994
country: United Kingdom
Fast-moving game show meets talk show, which sees Frank Skinner refereeing three celebrities each week as they compete to banish their top peeve or worst nightmare to the depths of Room 101.


Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
1998
country: United Kingdom
A game show created in the United Kingdom, in which contestants attempt to answer general knowledge questions in an intimidating atmosphere in order to scoop the £1 million top prize. The original series was hosted by Chris Tarrant, and its modern-day revival is hosted by Jeremy Clarkson.


Shooting Stars
1993
country: United Kingdom
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011. Created and hosted by double-act Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, it uses the panel show format but with the comedians' often slapstick, surreal and anarchic humour does not rely on rules in order to function, with the pair apparently ignoring existing rules or inventing new ones as and when the mood takes them.


Teletubbies
1997
country: United Kingdom
Pre-school fun, fantasy and education with colourful rotund characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po in a magical land called Teletubbyland.


Live & Kicking
1993
country: United Kingdom
Live & Kicking was a BBC Saturday morning children's magazine programme, running from 1993 to 2001. The fourth in a succession of Saturday morning shows, it was the replacement for Going Live!, and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, comedy, competitions and the showing of cartoons. Once Live & Kicking had become established in series two, it reached its height in popularity during series four, when it was presented by Zoë Ball and Jamie Theakston; their final episode won a BAFTA award. After this the series ratings dropped with the launch of SMTV Live on ITV and was eventually cancelled in 2001.
Can't Cook, Won't Cook
Can't Cook, Won't Cook
1995
country: United Kingdom
Can't Cook, Won't Cook was a UK game show and cooking programme that was broadcast on BBC1 on weekday mornings usually after the Breakfast News from 20 November 1995 to 7 July 2000.


Lady Chatterley
1993
country: United Kingdom
After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.


SMTV Live
1998
country: United Kingdom
SMTV Live, also stylised as SM:tv LIVE and in early promotional material SMTV://live, is a British Saturday morning children's television programme, first broadcast on ITV on 29 August 1998 and last broadcast on 27 December 2003. On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format of other Saturday morning output, featuring an audience of children, competitions and cartoons, though it constantly won in ratings battles with the BBC's Live & Kicking and became ITV's most successful children's programme since Tiswas. The major success of SMTV Live has been attributed in equal parts to Ant & Dec's original presenting partnership with Cat Deeley, its use of thinly-veiled comedic innuendo aimed at older viewers, and its broadcast of the Japanese cartoon series Pokémon. At the height of its popularity, SMTV Live regularly attracted 2.5 million viewers. Ant & Dec's company Gallowgate currently owns the rights to the show.


Absolutely Fabulous
1992
country: United Kingdom
Set in the world of fashion and PR, immature fun-loving mother Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie's sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness. Numerous in-jokes and heavy doses of cruel humour have made this series a cult hit in the UK and abroad.
1990s television was the last era of true mass audiences, when a network sitcom or a season finale could be a shared national event.
British television's defining habit is the short series — six episodes, one writer, a finite story. That structure produced the modern prestige miniseries and a format catalogue the rest of the world keeps adapting.