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U&Drama

Logo used since 2024
Broadcast area	United Kingdom and Ireland
Programming
Language(s)	English
Picture format	1080i HDTV (SDTV feed downscaled to 16:9 576i)
Timeshift service	U&Drama +1
Ownership
Owner	BBC Studios
Parent	UKTV
Sister channels	U&Alibi U&Dave U&Eden U&Gold U&W U&Yesterday
History
Launched	8 July 2013; 11 years ago (2013-07-08)
Replaced	Blighty CCXTV (Drama +1, Freeview only)
Former names	Drama (2013–2024)
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview	Channel 20 Channel 60 (+1)
Streaming media
U	Watch Free (UK and Ireland Only)

U&Drama is a British free-to-air television channel broadcasting drama (and, to a lesser extent, comedy, sci-fi) programming in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels.

History

The channel launched on 8 July 2013, replacing Blighty. The channel was initially launched on Freeview channel 20, which was previously occupied by Gold, and on Sky the channel was launched on channel 291, in the overspill area of the Entertainment section. It was moved to channel 166 on 24 July after purchasing the slot used by PBS America (formerly named PBS UK in 2011). The channel launched on Virgin Media on 14 August on channel 190. In September 2014, UKTV blamed the channel for their 7% profits fall. In September 2018, Drama and Really were added to Virgin Media Ireland, and on 16 July 2024, they rebranded to U&Drama.

Channels

U&Drama HD

U&Drama HD is the higher resolution version of U&Drama available on Virgin Media.

U&Drama +1

A timeshift channel, Drama +1, was launched on Sky and Virgin Media on 16 September 2019, replacing Travel Channel +1. On 25 January 2021, it was announced that the timeshift channel would be taking over CCXTV's Freeview slot (channel 73) on 1 February 2021, with CCXTV ending transmission. On 1 February 2022, BBC Three relaunched on Freeview channel 23 which shifted all the channels from that slot until Freeview 82 down a place, meaning that Drama +1 was now on channel 74.

On 28 March 2022, Drama +1 moved to Freeview 60 as a limited reach channel, as channel 25 was used by UKTV for their female skewing W channel, which means that Dave ja vu took the COM4 slot from Drama +1 on Freeview channel 74.

Programming

The channel is positioned as a home for British dramas from the last 40 years. The channel has featured classic drama series such as Auf Wiedersehen, Pet; The Cinder Path; Cranford; Lark Rise to Candleford; Pride & Prejudice; Sharpe; and Tipping the Velvet. As well as all these classic drama titles, a number of more recently produced BBC One daytime drama series have acquired a primetime slot on Drama. These series include Father Brown, which has been showing in an 8pm slot on Friday nights and which has a spin-off series, called Sister Boniface Mysteries. This period detective television series about a Catholic Nun is a co-production between BBC Studios and Britbox in North America, and has debuted as a free-to-air series directly on Drama, without getting an airing first on BBC One. In addition to drama programmes, the channel shows a number of classic BBC sitcoms in a teatime slot (usually between 5:25 pm and 8 pm) with Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping Up Appearances and Birds of a Feather being repeated in 2024.

Current

• The Alienist (U only)
• All Creatures Great and Small
• 'Allo 'Allo!
• Are You Being Served?
• As Time Goes By
• Atlantic Crossing (U only)
• Bergerac
• Berlin Station (U only)
• The Bill
• Birds of a Feather (the BBC series)
• Born and Bred
• The Brittas Empire
• Broken
• The Brokenwood Mysteries
• Brush Strokes
• Butterfiles
• Call the Midwife
• Campion
• Case Histories
• Catherine Cookson: The Cinder Path
• Catherine Cookson: Colour Blind
• Catherine Cookson: The Dwelling Place
• Catherine Cookson: The Fifteen Streets
• Catherine Cookson: The Gambling Man
• Catherine Cookson: The Girl
• Catherine Cookson: The Glass Virgin
• Catherine Cookson: The Man Who Cried
• Catherine Cookson: The Rag Nymph
• Catherine Cookson: The Round Tower
• Catherine Cookson: The Secret
• Catherine Cookson: The Tide of Life
• Catherine Cookson's Tilly Trotter
• Catherine Cookson: The Wingless Bird
• Classic Casualty
• Classic Doctors
• Classic EastEnders
• Clocking Off
• The Coroner
• Cranford
• Criminal Justice
• Cutting It
• Dalziel and Pascoe
• Dangerfield
• Death in Paradise
• Desmond's
• Dinnerladies
• Doctor Finlay
• Doctor Foster
• Down to Earth
• The Duchess of Duke Street
• Escape from Sobibor
• Ever Decreasing Circles
• Father Brown
• Gentleman Jack
• Goodnight Sweetheart
• The Good Fight (U Only from January 2025)
• The Green Green Grass
• Hamish Macbeth
• Happy Valley
• Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
• Hi-de-Hi!
• Holby City
• The House of Eliott
• Howards' Way
• Hustle
• In The Dark
• The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries
• Inspector George Gently
• The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
• Jonathan Creek
• Judge John Deed
• Just Good Friends
• Keeping Up Appearances
• Kingdom
• Lark Rise to Candleford
• The Last Detective
• Last of the Summer Wine
• Last Tango in Halifax
• London's Burning
• Lovejoy
• Luther
• Madam Secretary (U only)
• Maisie Raine
• Manhattan (U only)
• Masters of Sex (U only)
• May to December
• McMafia
• A Million Little Things (U only)
• Miss Marple
• The Missing
• Mistresses
• Monarch of the Glen
• The Musketeers
• New Tricks
• No Place Like Home
• One Foot in the Grave
• PD James: The Murder Room
• Peak Practice
• Pie in the Sky
• Porridge
• The Porter (U only)
• Queers
• Rebellion
• Rebus
• Rillington Place
• Secret Army
• The Shadow Line
• Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators
• Sherlock
• Silent Witness
• Sister Boniface Mysteries
• Smother
• Soldier Soldier
• Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
• Spooks
• Taggart
• Tell Me Your Secrets (U only)
• Tenko
• Terry and June
• The First Lady
• This Life
• To the Manor Born
• Top of the Lake (U only)
• The Upper Hand
• Waiting for God
• Waking the Dead
• Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
• When the Boat Comes In
• Whitechapel

Previous

• The 39 Steps
• The 60's: The Beatles Decade
• Above and Beyond
• Act of Will
• Ahead of the Class
• Ain't Misbehavin'
• Annika
• Archangel
• Bad Girls
• Ballykissangel
• Bert and Dickie
• The Best of Men
• Between the Lines
• A Bit of a Do
• A Bit of Fry & Laurie
• Birdsong
• Boon
• Bring Me Morecambe & Wise
• Britains Best - Scotland
• Burton & Taylor
• Cadfael
• Casanova
• Catherine Cookson: The Black Candle
• Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind
• Catherine Cookson: A Dinner of Herbs
• Catherine Cookson: The Moth
• The Cazalets
• Cider with Rosie
• Citizen Smith
• Cold Comfort Farm
• The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
• The Crimson Petal and the White
• Daniel Deronda
• David Copperfield
• Deadline Gallipoli
• Death Comes to Pemberley
• Doctor Doctor
• Doctor Who
• EastEnders' Christmas Fallouts
• EastEnders: Unveiled - A Wedding Special
• Emma
• Empire
• Eric and Ernie
• The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
• Family Tree
• Fanny Hill
• Find My Past
• A Fine Romance
• Footballers' Wives
• The Forsyte Saga
• A Garden for All Seasons
• The Good Life
• Gracie!
• Great British Ghosts
• Great Expectations
• The Great Train Robbery
• Hard Times
• Hattie
• Hitlers Bodyguards
• Hold the Dream
• House of Cards
• Jam & Jerusalem
• Jane Eyre
• King Solomon's Mines
• Land Girls
• Learners
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
• The Liver Birds
• The Long Firm
• Mansfield Park
• The Mayor of Casteridge
• Men Behaving Badly
• Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
• The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• Murder in Mind
• Murphy's Law
• The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• My Family
• My Hero
• North & South
• Northanger Abbey
• Oliver Twist
• Outnumbered
• Our Mutual Friend
• Parade's End
• PD James: Death in Holy Orders
• Persuasion
• Pride and Prejudice
• Ration Book Britain
• The Road to Coronation Street
• Rosemary & Thyme
• The Ruby in the Smoke
• Rumpole of the Bailey
• The Scarlet Pimpernel
• The Scold's Bridle
• The Sculptress
• The Secret of Crickley Hall
• Sense and Sensibility
• The Shadow in the North
• Sharpe
• Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
• Sherlock Holmes: Terror By Night
• Sherlock Holmes - The Case of the Silk Stocking
• Silk
• Shirley
• The Sinking of the Laconia
• Sisters of War
• Small Island
• South Riding
• State of Play
• Steptoe and Son (only series 1-6)
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles
• Three Up, Two Down
• Tipping the Velvet
• To Be the Best
• Touching Evil
• Trial & Retribution
• The Turn of the Screw
• United
• Upstairs, Downstairs
• Vanity Fair
• The Vicar of Dibley
• The Whale
• What Remains
• Where the Heart Is
• Wish Me Luck
• A Woman of Substance
• A Year to Remember
• The Young Ones
• Young James Herriot
• Young Catherine
• You Rang, M'Lord?

References

1. "UKTV raises the curtain on Drama" (Press release). UKTV. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
2. "UKTV's Drama channel reveals line-up, Yesterday goes factual and Blighty looks set to close". a516digital. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
3. "Drama as new channel forces Gold to move Home on the Freeview EPG". a516digital. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
4. White, Peter (17 July 2013). "PBS America sells Sky slot to UKTV". Broadcast. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
5. "Plug pulled on CCXTV Freeview channel". rxtvinfo. 25 January 2021.
6. "Freeview Updates". 22 May 2024.
7. ^ "Freeview channel reshuffle as W joins". 21 March 2022.
8. "Freeview announces further channel changes on Monday". 22 March 2022.
9. "Uktv Take W Free-To-Air with Channel Rebrand". 21 March 2022.
10. "UKTV expands W's reach by taking the premium entertainment channel free-to-air | News | UKTV Corporate Site".
11. "UKTV to make W channel free-to-air". 21 March 2022.
12. "UKTV's W launches "Life Unfiltered" rebrand as the premium entertainment channel is taken free-to-air | News | UKTV Corporate Site".
13. "UKTV relaunches W as free-to-air channel". 21 March 2022.
14. Munn, Patrick (2 May 2013). "UKTV To Launch New Drama Channel on July 8th". TVWise. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
15. "Sister Boniface Mysteries | Drama Channel".
16. "Drama Sets UK Premiere Date for 'Sister Boniface Mysteries'". 22 February 2022.
17. "BritBox North America recommission BBC Studios Drama Productions' Sister Boniface Mysteries".
18. Radio Times 19–25 March 2022 edition: Drama's TV schedules Monday to Friday
19. "Classic Doctors comes to Drama Channel from August". EastieOaks. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.

External links

• Official website

• Television channels in the United Kingdom
• Television channels and stations established in 2013
• UKTV
• UKTV channels
• 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom