IT’S been another incredible year for TV, with a long line of shows that proved to the world that we Brits are still leading the way with brilliant dramas, documentaries, entertainment and talented stars.

As 2025 draws to a close, here is my Top Ten of the best programmes from the past 12 months, together with a Flop Ten of the worst . . .

1. ADOLESCENCE

Netflix

Netflix poster for "Adolescence" featuring a young boy with an intense expression looking at a blurred figure.
Adolescence was an outstanding piece of TV innovation
EVEN setting aside the borderline hysteria that surrounded this drama about the fatal consequences of online radicalisation, it was an outstanding piece of TV innovation that was brilliantly executed and desperately moving.

2. THE GIRLFRIEND

Prime Video

Daniel (Ben Hardy) and Cherry (Olivia Cooke) smiling at each other.
The Girlfriend managed the feat of being mainstream and clever with a unique twistCredit: Courtesy of Prime
AT last, a juicy drama on a streaming platform – exploring a bizarre tug-of-love between a man, his mother and girlfriend – that managed the feat of being mainstream and clever with a unique twist.

3. CELEBRITY TRAITORS

BBC One

The Celebrity Traitors, a group photo of five cast members posing on stone steps in front of a castle.
Celebrity Traitors was one of the best TV shows in recent yearsCredit: BBC
THE best TV format combined with the best line-up of stars to deliver one of the best TV shows in recent years.

The cherry on the cake was, of course, that sneaky botty burp from Celia Imrie.

4. HOUSE OF GUINNESS

Netflix

Two people in formal attire sit at a table, a woman with gloved hands points ahead, a man smiles.
House of Guinness featured a top cast, led by Anthony Boyle
PEAKY Blinders creator Steven Knight worked his magic on another less well-known story from history and gave it his usual modern twist in terms of presentation.

A top cast, too, led by Irish actor Anthony Boyle.

5. THE DIPLOMAT

Netflix

Keri Russell in a scene from "The Diplomat"
The Diplomat proved a masterclass of script writingCredit: AP
AS if the first two series weren’t enough, season three of this political thriller proved it is a masterclass in script writing.

Genius casting, too, in the form of Allison Janney and Keri Russell.

6. THE WHITE LOTUS

Sky

Aimee Lou Wood in a scene from "The White Lotus."
The White Lotus season three was packed with sexiness, controversy, hilarity and tensionCredit: AP
SEASON three of the black comedy managed to once again serve up intertwined narratives packed with sexiness, controversy, hilarity and tension, all in the steamy setting of Thailand.

7. A THOUSAND BLOWS

Disney+

Stephen Graham as Sugar Goodson yelling in A Thousand Blows.
Stephen Graham was at his menacing best in A Thousand BlowsCredit: PA
IT was the gangster and boxing drama you never knew you needed, with Stephen Graham at his menacing best and Erin Doherty putting in an epic performance as head of a gang of female mobsters.

8. DEPT Q

Netflix

Leah Byrne, Alexej Manvelov, and Matthew Goode in a promotional still for the Netflix series "Dept. Q."
Dept Q found the ideal lead character in acerbic detective Carl MorckCredit: Alamy
FEW crime dramas pack quite as much of a punch as this, and the Edinburgh-based thriller found the ideal lead character in acerbic detective Carl Morck, played perfectly by Matthew Goode.

9. WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL

BBC Three

Max and Byron holding hands.
What it Feels Like For a Girl was sensational, but definitely not family viewingCredit: BBC
A RETURN to making edgy dramas about real life that aren’t just preachy woke-fests.

This adaptation of author Paris Lees’ life story was sensational, but definitely not family viewing.

10. CLARKSON’S FARM

Prime Video

Jeremy Clarkson on his farm with his farmhand, Kaleb Cooper, standing in a tractor.
This year featured another hilarious instalment of Clarkson’s Farm
ANOTHER hilarious series which saw Jeremy take delivery of a bull to breed his cows, only to discover it might have been gay.

Plus there was a suspected trans pig.

…AND THE FLOPS

1. PRIME TARGET

Apple TV

EVEN with the beautiful backdrop of Cambridge and an all-star cast including Leo Woodall as a maths genius, it didn’t take long to work out that this was a turkey of a thriller with a very flimsy premise.

2. DOCTOR WHO

BBC One

Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor at the TARDIS controls.
Ncuti Gatwa played one of the worst Time Lords in the cult hit’s historyCredit: BBC
WHERE to begin?

The Beeb took a show that had been reborn 20 years ago, then killed it off with wokery.

Ncuti Gatwa played one of the worst Time Lords in the cult hit’s history.

3. STRANDED ON HONEYMOON ISLAND

BBC One

TEXTBOOK example of the Beeb attempting their own spin on a format perfected by other channels and mucking it up spectacularly.

Even the divine Davina McCall as host couldn’t save it.

4. THE GENIUS GAME

ITV

IN a desperate bid to find another Traitors-style hit, we got this hugely expensive flop hosted by David Tennant.

A prime-time game show that could only be understood by eggheads.

5. EMILY IN PARIS

Netflix

Emily (Lily Collins) and Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini) from Emily in Paris, walking arm-in-arm.
The new Emily in Paris series was just a mash-up of each one that went beforeCredit: © 2025 Netflix, Inc.
THE story of an American PR trying to navigate life in France was great, but the new series was just a mash-up of each one that went before.

6. CELEBRITY BEAR HUNT

Netflix

PROOF that throwing money at a project, plus a long line-up of stars, isn’t a guarantee of a decent bit of telly – particularly if it’s one that’s attempting to be a reinvention of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!

7. UNTAMED

Netflix

LAMENTABLE six-parter was set in the national park of Yosemite in California and featured Eric Bana as special agent Kyle Turner, who had to work with a less-than-special script and utterly implausible storyline.

8. SH­ARK! CELEBRITY INFESTED WATERS

ITV

THE show that might have just sounded the death knell for all these celebrity-based programmes, with such a wispy premise that by the end of the first episode, you’ve forgotten what it was all about and why you ever tuned in.

9. THE INHERITANCE

Channel 4

Elizabeth Hurley in a pink dress, standing in front of a grand estate.
The Inheritance, featuring Liz Hurley, backfired and paled in comparison to The TraitorsCredit: PA
ANOTHER attempt at a version of The Traitors – starring Rob Rinder and Liz Hurley – backfired because delivering something so close to the Beeb show meant it would always pale by comparison.

10. GIRLBANDS FOREVER

BBC 2

NOT a bad documentary in its own right, but the fact that it attempted to be a definitive look-back on girl bands was foiled by the fact that both Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls declined to take part.