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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Lewis Knight

Coronavirus: BBC iPlayer relaunches classic box-sets of Spooks, and French and Saunders

As the continuing coronavirus pandemic changes the way we live in the UK, BBC iPlayer are adding classic series to their library to provide some relief.

The catch-up and streaming service has added box-sets of beloved shows including series from comedy duo French and Saunders, aka Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Additionally, we can watch classic drama series like Wallander, Waking the Dead, and espionage thriller show Spooks.

The box sets will keep viewers entertained while they struggle with the boredom of being stuck at home self-isolating and social distancing.

French and Saunders was widely popular in the UK during the 1980s, 1990s and beyond, with its stars providing satire, regular sketch characters, and hilarious parodies of iconic films.

The show ran for six series and nine specials, along with a twelve compilation episodes.

Elsewhere, Spooks ran for ten series and followed the thrilling trials and tribulations of MI5 agents as they worked to save the country for dangerous terrorist threats.

Across the show's run, cast members included Peter Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Rupert Penry-Jones, Nicola Walker, Hermione Norris, Lara Pulver, and Richard Armitage.

The show also spawned a feature film, entitled Spooks: The Greater Good, which starred Game of Thrones favourite Kit Harington.

Peter Firth and Nicola Walker in Spooks (BBC/Kudos/Angus Muir/Alex Gill)

The Missing is an anthology crime series that looks into the cases of missing children.

The changing cast of the acclaimed drama includes James Nesbitt, Keeley Hawes, David Morrisey, and Frances O'Connor.

Meanwhile, Waking the Dead is set in London and sees difficult criminal cases and personal dramas haunt officers investigating impossible cases.

Wallander is a Swedish import and a much more cerebral crime drama that follows Kurt Wallander (Kenneth Branagh in the UK version, Krister Henriksson in the Swedish) as he looks into dark crime cases.

It has been adapted in many nations across the world.

Finally, Maggie Gyllenhaal is a complicated heroine of thriller series The Honourable Woman.

Her character is obsessed with finding answers as her business partner in the Middle East is assassinated, leading her into a murky world of crime and corruption.

What series will you be watching while in self-isolation and social distancing? Let us know in the comments below.

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