Seven Deadly Sins

Seven Deadly Sins

1966 - United Kingdom

Seven self-contained plays by different writers - each featuring one of the sins categorised by the founders of the Christian Church as "deadly." Lists of the seven vary. But for the TV series the sins were avarice, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth and wrath. Each play had a touch of suspense about it but viewers were left to speculate on the sins concerned as each play unfolded - only discovering if they made the right guess as the final credits rolled. 

Series producer Peter Willes told TV Times in 1966; "The treatment varies from comedy to drama and the plays make no pretension to being morality plays or parables. The object is to intrigue and entertain." Among the stars who appeared were Alan Dobie, Robin Bailey, Nigel Stock, Patrick Allen, Reginald Marsh and (at that time) pop singer Adam Faith. 

Contributing writers included Alun Falconer and Joe Orton (acclaimed for his Entertaining Mr. Sloane and Loot). Willes followed up the series a year later with the similarly titled Seven Deadly Virtues

Published on February 12th, 2019. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

The Wednesday Play

Now regarded as a shining light of British television's golden age, The Wednesday Play is often held up as the perfect example of the impact that television had on a generation of viewers.

Also tagged Anthology Series

Raffles

A gentleman thief burgles the rich.

Also tagged Uk Drama

Beasts 1976

Laden with suspense, drama and a thick vein of black humour Beasts presented stories of civilised man in conflict with the primal, animal side of existence.

Also tagged Anthology Series

The Human Jungle

A Harley Street psychiatrist devotes his time to helping the not so well-off.

Also tagged Uk Drama

Thriller

Series of twist-in-the-tail dramas designed to keep its viewing audience guessing and at the edge of their seat right up to the final scene.

Also tagged Uk Drama

Armchair Thriller

By the time the final story of the first series was broadcast, Armchair Thriller had built up quite a following, resulting in the first episode of 'The Limbo Connection', which starred James Bolam as a man in search of his missing wife, achieving an audience in excess of 17 million viewers.

Also tagged Anthology Series