Summer is almost here, and BritBox is getting ready with a long list of classic British films and an original documentary that chronicles British cinema, along with new and classic TV shows such as Bafta-winner Time, Call The Midwife Series 10, and more.
And to truly celebrate the summer, BritBox is adding several festival and music titles, such as Elton John: Uncensored, Duran Duran: There’s Something You Should Know and more.
BritBox UK (it’s not the American version) is a streaming subscription service owned by ITV. It curates British TV programmes and classic films from ITV, BBC, Channel 5 and Channel 4.
The subscription costs £5.99/month or £59.99/year, and you can usually get a free trial (See my review of BritBox UK here).
You can either subscribe directly via the BritBox website, or as an Amazon Prime Video channel (which will then make it available on every device with a Prime Video app – including Sky Q / Sky Glass).
It’s worth noting that big changes are coming to BritBox UK later this year, with it moving over to ITV’s new streaming service, ITVX – learn more about the upcoming BritBox changes in our guide.
- Missed the previous month? Here’s everything that came to BritBox in May 2022.
As always, some content may be added later in the month, but these are the highlights for the month of June 2022:
June 2
Bad Education (Seasons 1-3, 2012-14)
Comedy-drama co-written by and starring Jack Whitehall, following Alfie, the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system.
Also starring Mathew Horne and Sarah Solemani.
My Years With the Queen (2021)
Lady Pamela Hicks talks for the first time on television about her incredible life growing up within the Royal Family and her close relationship with the Queen.
Some Girls (Seasons 1-3, 2012-14)
Sitcom following the lives and loves of a group of quirky 16-year-old high school girls who live within the same south London housing estate.
Starring Alice Felgate, Adelayo Adedayo and Mandeep Dhillon.
The Queen and the Coup (2020)
In 1953, a recently crowned Queen Elizabeth was unwittingly used in a secret attack on Iran’s democracy.
Using newly declassified documents, this documentary tells the story for the first time.
The Queen Unseen (2021)
A profile of the woman behind the crown. We hear intimate personal stories of the Queen from those who know her, while a clinical psychologist unpicks her body language.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Seasons 1, 1996)
In the mid 19th Century, an enigmatic young woman moves to Yorkshire with a young son. Distancing herself from everyone in the village and their prying questions, she remains totally aloof until a neighbouring farmer gets her to reveal her traumatic past.
Starring Toby Stephens, Tara Fitzgerald and Joe Absolom.
Scum (1979)
Powerful, uncompromising drama about the struggle for survival in the nightmare world of a brutal borstal.
This is the feature film version of the original 1977 Play for Today drama which was banned by the BBC for 14 years, about two boys who struggle to survive Britain’s notorious Borstal Reformatory.
Starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Ray Burdis, Julian Firth and Phil Daniels.
Love Hurts (Seasons 1-3)
Memorably bittersweet comedy-drama charting the relationship between an entrepreneur with wildly fluctuating fortunes and a former financial high-flyer.
Starring Adam Faith, Zoë Wanamaker and Tony Selby.
June 9
Reel Britannia (Season 1, 2022)
BritBox Original: A bold, ambitious and visually striking documentary which explores British film decade-by-decade from 1960 through to the noughties, narrated by comedian Nick Helm.
Featuring a collection of brand-new archival interviews, alongside behind the scenes footage, Reel Britannia will take viewers on a journey through the evolution of British cinema.
A Single Man (2009)
An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.
Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode and Ginnifer Goodwin.
Billy Liar (1963)
A young Englishman dreams of escaping his working-class family and dead-end job as an undertaker’s assistant.
Starring Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Mona Washbourne and Wilfred Pickles.
Closing The Ring (2007)
In 1943, a gunner breathing his last breath after a crash hands over a ring to a local, asking him to return it to his girl in the US.
Fifty years later, a man finds the ring and tracks down the girlfriend.
Starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Neve Campbell and Pete Postlethwaite.
Land Of The Blind (2006)
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country’s authoritarian government.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Lara Flynn Boyle, Marc Warren and Don Warrington.
Poor Cow (1967)
A young woman lives a life filled with bad choices, and has a child with an abusive thief who quickly ends up in prison.
One day, her son goes missing and she briefly comes to grips with what is most important to her.
Starring Carol White, Terence Stamp, Queenie Watts and Billy Murray.
Room at the Top (1959)
An ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner’s daughter despite falling in love with a married older woman.
Starring Simone Signoret, Laurence Harvey, Heather Sears and Donald Houston.
Sunset Song (2015)
At the dawn of the Great War, a young daughter of a farmer endures the hardships of rural Scottish life as she comes of age.
Based on the novel by Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Starring Peter Mullan, Agyness Deyn and Kevin Guthrie.
The Angry Silence (1960)
Tom Curtis works at a factory in England and refuses to participate in an unofficial strike organised by a new employee, Travers. This one refusal changes his life completely.
Starring Richard Attenborough, Michael Craig and Pier Angeli.
The L-Shaped Room (1962)
A single, pregnant woman moves into a London boarding house where she meets a group of fellow misfits.
Starring Leslie Caron, Tom Bell, Brock Peters and Pat Phoenix.
This Time with Alan Partridge (Season 2, 2021)
Alan Partridge is given the opportunity to revive his career when he is asked to step in as a guest presenter for ‘This Time’; a popular television show.
Starring Steve Coogan, Susannah Fielding, Simon Farnaby, Jamie Demetriou and Lolly Adefope.
Call the Midwife (Season 10, 2021)
A group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s deal with the pressures of their day-to-day lives while trying to cope with the changes in the world around them.
Starring Jenny Agutter, Linda Bassett and Judy Parfitt.
Time (Miniseries, 2021)
A prisoner consumed by guilt, and an officer with an impossible choice. What does it take to survive?
A tense story of punishment and principles, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Time was the big winner at the 2022 television Bafta awards ceremony.
June 16
Black Joy (1977)
An innocent and unsophisticated Guyanan immigrant is exposed to the hustlin’ way of life of the Brixton ghetto.
Starring Norman Beaton, Trevor Thomas and Dawn Hope.
Bright Star (2009)
John Keats, an English poet, and his dressmaking neighbour, Fanny Brawne, have total disregard for each other. An unlikely romance develops and they fall deeply in love.
Starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Paul Schneider.
Centurion (2010)
A splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Olga Kurylenko, Imogen Poots and Dominic West.
Chéri (2009)
The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Felicity Jones and Kathy Bates.
Cool It Carol! (1970)
A naive couple leaves their small town in hopes of finding success in London’s adult entertainment industry.
Starring Janet Lynn and Robin Askwith.
Dear Frankie (2004)
After having responded to her son’s numerous letters in the guise of his father, a woman hires a stranger to pose as his dad when meeting him.
Starring Gerard Butler, Jack McElhorne and Emily Mortimer.
Easy Virtue (2008)
Mrs. Whittaker is eagerly waiting for her son John’s arrival but when he arrives with Larita, an American widow, things turn nasty.
Starring Colin Firth, Jessica Biel, Kris Marshall, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ben Barnes.
Enduring Love (2004)
Two strangers are connected by a tragedy, but one dangerously feels that the connection goes much deeper than the other is willing to admit.
Starring Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Anna Maxwell Martin and Samantha Morton.
Jubilee (1978)
Queen Elisabeth I travels 400 years into the future to witness the appalling revelation of a dystopian London overrun by corruption and a vicious gang of punk guerrilla girls led by the new Monarch of Punk.
Starring Jenny Runacre, Toyah Willcox, Ian Charleston and Adam Ant.
Sebastiane (1976)
The Roman Sebastianus is exiled to a remote outpost populated exclusively by men. “Weakened” by their desires, these men turn to homosexual activities to satisfy their needs.
Starring Leonardo Treviglio, Richard Warwick and Peter Hinwood.
That’ll Be the Day (1973)
Musical drama set in the 1950s, loosely based on John Lennon’s early years. A gifted but wayward young man finally discovers a sense of purpose when he decides to turn his love of music into a career.
Starring David Essex and Ringo Starr.
Stardust (1974)
Sequel to That’ll Be the Day, taking up the theme of the rise to fame of a pop star who suddenly finds himself the centre of media attention and immerses himself in sex and the heavy drug scene.
Starring David Essex, Adam Faith and Larry Hagman.
The 14 (1973)
A family of 14 try to stick together after their mother passes away. The true story of keeping together and staying strong despite overwhelming pressure.
Starring Jack Wild, Alun Armstrong and John Bailey.
The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971)
In seventeenth-century England, the children of a village slowly convert into a coven of devil worshipers.
Starring Linda Hayden, Patrick Wymark and Wendy Padbury.
The Iron Lady (2011)
An aged Margaret Thatcher gets nostalgic as she empties her late husband Denis’ wardrobe. She struggles to come to terms with her husband’s passing while also recollecting her political journey.
Starring Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman and Richard E. Grant.
The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963)
The owner of a seedy strip club in London’s Soho struggles to keep one step ahead of the bookies to whom he owes money. Starring Anthony Newley, Julia Foster, Warren Mitchell and Wilfred Brambell.
Walkabout (1971)
A story of two children; one a teenage schoolgirl and the other her little brother, who are put into a deeply disturbing and unexpected situation that changes both of their lives forever.
Starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, John Meillon and David Gulpilil.
Witchfinder General (1968)
A tale of evil set during the English Civil War.
When Matthew Hopkins is appointed Witchfinder General by the Puritans under Cromwell, he is empowered to travel the countryside with his henchmen and collect a fee for each witch from whom he extracts a confession – a policy which is exploited to the full.
Starring Vincent Price, Hilary Dwyer, Rupert Davies and Paul Ferris.
June 23
Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966)
An eccentric artist makes desperate attempts to win his ex-wife back, after she leaves him for another man.
Black and white comedy starring Vanessa Redgrave, David Warner and Robert Stephens.
Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Biographer John Lahr is writing a book about playwright Joe Orton. Joe and Kenneth meet at drama school and live together for ten years as lovers and collaborators.
Both want to be writers, but only one of them is successful.
Starring Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Julie Walters and Lindsay Duncan.
London Town (2016)
In ’70s London, a 14 year-old boy is introduced to the Clash by his estranged mother. It changes his life forever.
Starring Dougray Scott, Natasha McElhorne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Daniel Huttlestone.
Joe’s Palace (2007)
Joe, a teenage caretaker, looks after an empty house owned by a rich and strange Londoner, Elliot. He then goes on to share a special bond with Elliot.
Starring Michael Gambon, Danny Lee Wynter, Rupert Penry-Jones, Kelly Reilly, Rebecca Hall and Clive Russell.
Friends and Crocodiles (2006)
Tracing the changing relationship of maverick entrepreneur Paul Reynolds and his assistant Lizzie Thomas over a period of 20 years from the beginnings of the Thatcher era to the bursting of the dot-com bubble.
Starring Damian Lewis, Robert Lindsay, Eddie Marsan and Jodhi May.
Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963)
When a British merchant seaman returns home after two years, he finds his wife living with a married bus driver.
Starring Barbara Windsor and James Booth.
The Company of Wolves (1984)
A teenage girl in a country manor falls asleep while reading a magazine, and has a disturbing dream involving wolves prowling the woods below her bedroom window.
Starring Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury and David Warner.
To the Manor Born (Seasons 1-3, 1979-81)
Following the love-hate relationship between upper-class Audrey Forbes-Hamilton and Richard DeVere, the nouveau riche businessman who buys her manor house when she can longer afford to keep it.
Starring Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne and John Rudling.
The Virgin Queen (2005)
The long and eventful life of England’s iconic queen is presented in four parts, from her fearful days as a teenage princess, through her love affair with Robert Dudley, into her years of triumph over the Spanish Armada, and concluding with her enigmatic relationship with her young protégé, the Earl of Essex.
Starring Anne-Marie Duff, Tom Hardy, Ian Hart and Tara Fitzgerald.
State of Play (Season 1, 2003)
A thriller set in London in which a politician’s life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and a teenage drug dealer is shot dead.
Starring John Simm, Kelly MacDonald, James McAvoy, Bill Nighy, David Morrissey and Philip Glenister.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Seasons 1, 2008)
Tess Durbeyfield faces many difficulties in life when she is sent off to visit a rich cousin, Alec D’Urberville, when her parents learn that they are distantly related.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Redmayne, Ruth Jones, Jodie Whittaker, Hugh Skinner, Hans Matheson and Ian Puleston-Davies.
The Cazalets (Season 1, 2001)
Drama series about a family transformed by World War II. As the storm clouds of war gather, the Cazalet brothers and their families retreat to their parents’ country home.
Starring Lesley Manville, Hugh Bonneville, Joanna Page and Anna Chancellor.
Thorne (Seasons 1-2, 2010)
Acclaimed actor David Morrissey is the complex and compelling character Detective Inspector Tom Thorne in this nail-biting crime thriller adapted from the best selling novels by Mark Billingham.
Also starring Sandra Oh, Lorraine Ashbourne, Joe Absolom, Aiden Gillen and O-T Fagbenle.
Tutti Frutti (Season 1, 1987)
Trouble ensues for the Majestics, Scotland’s “Kings of Rock”, when a good-looking redhead joins the band on tour.
Starring Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Richard Wilson and Katy Murphy.
Good Vibrations (2012)
Belfast punk impresario Terri Hooley becomes the unlikely leader of a motley band of kids and punks, who join him in his mission to bring his city back to life.
Starring Richard Dormer, Adrian Dunbar, Jodie Whittaker and Dylan Moran.
Eurythmics: Live From Heaven (2002)
Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart lay down a fiery set in this vintage 1983 concert from the Heaven Club in London.
Among the gems sprinkled throughout the set list are their breakthrough hits Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Who’s That Girl and Love Is a Stranger.
Elton John: Uncensored (2019)
Sir Elton and Graham Norton sit down for a world-exclusive intimate chat, which sees the legendary ‘Rocket Man’ look back at his extraordinary life and career.
Duran Duran: There’s Something You Should Know (2018)
Duran Duran open up about their extraordinary career and talk candidly about the highs and lows they have endured together over four long decades.
This is the band at their most relaxed, intimate and honest.
Ronnie’s (2020)
The story of musician Ronnie Scott and his London jazz club, which would become the cornerstone of the UK jazz scene and one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world.
The Comic Strip S1E4: Bad News (1983)
A documentary crew films heavy metal band Bad News as they have trouble starting their van, pick up a schoolgirl groupie, and meet up with rock journalist Sally at a motorway service station where they argue about the cost of sausage and chips.
The Comic Strip S4E2: More Bad News (1988)
Four years after they were last the subject of a documentary, Bad News get back together again for another film of their exploits, beginning with a reunion gig at the Flying Horse.
Glastonbury Fayre (1972)
A documentary detailing the atmosphere and events of the second Glastonbury Festival, held in 1971.
June 30
Dunkirk (1958)
A dramatization of the British Expeditionary Force’s 1940 retreat to the beaches of France and the extraordinary seaborne evacuation that saved it from utter destruction by Nazi Germany.
Starring Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, Sean Barrett and Robert Urquhart (Don’t confuse this with the 2017 version).
I Was Monty’s Double (1958)
During World War II, a British actor impersonates Field Marshal Montgomery in order to confuse German intelligence.
Starring M.E. Clifton James, Cecil Parker, Michael Hordern and Sid James.
My Family and Other Animals (2005)
A move to Corfu in the 1930s by the eccentric Durrell family begins a lifetime’s fascination with the animal kingdom for young Gerald, who explores Corfu’s marine and insect life, while his sister fights off the advances of would-be suitors.
Starring Imelda Staunton, Matthew Goode, Eugene Simon, Russell Tovey, Omid Djalili and Tamzin Merchant.
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Despite his guilt over a recent harrowing sea battle in which many of his men were lost, Lt. Cmdr. George Ericson is assigned to helm the new H.M.S. Compass Rose with the help of steadfast seaman Lt. Lockhart.
When the small vessel is sent to escort convoys of ships fighting German U-boats in the North Atlantic, the mettle of the novice crew is tested by the weather, the turbulent sea and enemy attacks – one of which nearly destroys the Compass Rose.
Starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden.
Run (Season 1, 2013)
Crime drama tying together the stories of four seemingly unconnected people who are all facing life-changing decisions.
Tough single mother Carol must decide whether to protect her children or do the right thing when her teenage sons cause a stranger’s death.
Illegal immigrant Ying, who has debts she must pay back to a gang, forms an unlikely bond with a barbershop owner. Recovering heroin addict Richard wants to re-establish contact with his teenage daughter.
Young Kasia, struggling to make ends meet working as a cleaner, uncovers a startling secret that soon puts her in grave danger.
Starring Olivia Colman, Lennie James, Nav Sidhu and Katie Leung.