The British Academy Television Award for Best Single Drama was one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry. According to the BAFTA website, the category was for "a single, self-contained drama.", this "includes single films which form part of an anthology series, where each episode has a self-contained story. The same characters cannot appear in a later episode." It was awarded as Best Single Play from 1973 to 1983. Prior to that, there was a sole category for Drama Production.
In 2024, the category was merged with the Best Drama Mini-Series award into one category titled Best Limited Drama.
Winners and nominees 1970s Year Title Recipient(s)1973 Stocker's CopperJack Gold The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui Jack Gold To Encourage the Others Alan Clarke1974 Kisses at Fifty Michael Apted Alice Through The Looking Glass James MacTaggart Country Matters: The Little Farm Silvio Narizzano Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont/Wessex Tales: The Withered Arm Michael Lindsay-Hogg1975 Antony and Cleopatra Jon Scoffield Catholics Jack Gold God Bless Thee Jackie Madison Jack Gold Mr Axelford's Angel John Frankau Robinson Crusoe James MacTaggart1976 The Evacuees Alan Parker Shades of Greene: Cheap In August Alvin Rakoff Eighty-Four Charing Cross Road Mark CullinghamJust Another SaturdayJohn Mackenzie The Naked Civil Servant Jack Gold1977 Bar Mitzvah Boy Michael Tuchner Billion Dollar Bubble Brian Gibson Ready When You Are Mr McGill Mike Newell Rogue Male Clive Donner1978 Spend, Spend, Spend John Goldschmidt A Good Human Story/Philby, Burgess And Maclean Gordon Flemyng Jesus of Nazareth Franco Zeffirelli Professional Foul Michael Lindsay-Hogg1979 Licking Hitler David Hare Me, I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf Stephen Frears The One and Only Phyllis Dixey Michael Tuckner Thank You Comrades Jack Gold
1980s (as Best Single Play) Year Title Recipient(s)1980 Blue Remembered Hills Brian Gibson Churchill and the Generals Alan Gibson The Knowledge Bob Brooks Suez 1956 Michael Darlow1981 Caught on a Train Peter Duffell Blade on the Feather Richard Loncraine Cream In My Coffee Gavin Millar Staying On Silvio Narizzano1982 Going Gently Stephen Frears A Sense of Freedom John Mackenzie The Potting Shed David Cunliffe United Kingdom Roland Joffé
1980s Year Title Recipient(s)1983 The Ballroom of Romance Pat O'Connor P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang Michael Apted A Voyage Round My Father Alvin Rakoff Walter Stephen Frears1984 An Englishman Abroad John Schlesinger The Country Girls Desmond Davis Orwell On Jura John Glenister Saigon: Year of the Cat Stephen Frears To The Lighthouse Colin Gregg1985 Threads Mick Jackson Doctor Fischer of Geneva Michael Lindsay-Hogg The Ebony Tower Robert Knights Oxbridge Blues James Cellan Jones1986 Shadowlands Norman Stone, David M. Thompson The Browning Version Michael Simpson, Shaun Sutton Monsignor Quixote Rodney Bennett, Christopher Neame Silas Marner Giles Foster, Louis Marks1987 Screen Two: "Hotel du Lac" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Sue Birtwistle, Giles Foster|- | Drums Along Balmoral Drive || Brenda Reid, Jane Howell |- | The Good Doctor Bodkin Adams || Innes Lloyd, Richard Stroud |- | Screen Two: "The Insurance Man" || Innes Lloyd, Richard Eyre |- | London's Burning || Paul Knight, Les Blair |- | Past Caring || Kenith Trodd, Richard Eyre |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|1988 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Lifestory Mick Jackson Screen Two: "After Pilkington" Christopher Morahan, Kenith Trodd Blunt John Glenister, Martin Thompson Screen Two: "East of Ipswich" Tristram Powell, Innes Lloyd1989 Tumbledown Charles Wood, Richard Broke, Richard Eyre Talking Heads: "Bed Among the Lentils" Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd Talking Heads: "A Lady of Letters" Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd, Giles Foster Screen Two: "Sweet As You Are" William Nicholson, Ruth Caleb, Angela Pope
1990s Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster1990 Screen One: "The Accountant" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Geoffrey Case, Paul Knight, Les Blair || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| BBC One|- | First and Last || Michael Frayn, Michael Wearing, Alan Dossor || rowspan="3"| BBC One |- | Bomber Harris || Don Shaw, Innes Lloyd, Michael Darlow |- | Screen One: "She's Been Away" || Stephen Poliakoff, Kenith Trodd, Peter Hall |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|1991 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Screen One: "News Hounds" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Les Blair, Sarah Curtis || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| BBC One|- | Screen Two: "Old Flames" || Simon Gray, Kenith Trodd, Christopher Morahan || BBC Two |- | Screen One: "Can You Hear Me Thinking?" || Monty Haltrecht, Beverley Marcus, Ruth Caleb, Christopher Morahan || BBC One |- | Shoot to Kill || Michael Eaton, Nigel Stafford-Clark, Peter Kosminsky || rowspan="2"| ITV |- | The Widowmaker || Jeremy Brock, Deirdre Keir, John Madden |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|1992 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Screen One: "A Question of Attribution" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd, John Schlesinger || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| BBC One|- | Screen Two: "102 Boulevard Haussmann" || Alan Bennett, Innes Lloyd, Udayan Prasad || rowspan="2"| BBC Two |- | The Trials of Oz || Geoffrey Robertson, Simon Curtis, Sheree Folkson |- | Screen One: "Hancock" || William Humble, Paul Marcus, Tony Smith || BBC One |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|1993 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|An Ungentlemanly Act Bradley Adams, Stuart Urban BBC Two Screen Two: "The Grass Arena" Ruth Baumgarten, Gillies MacKinnon, Frank Deasy BBC Two A Doll's House Simon Curtis, David Thacker, Joan Tindale Screen Two: "Memento Mori" Louis Marks, Jack Clayton, Alan Kelley, Jeanie Sims1994 ScreenPlay: "Safe" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|David M. Thompson, Antonia Bird, Al Ashton || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| BBC Two|- | Screen Two: "The Clothes in the Wardrobe" || Norma Heyman, Waris Hussein, Martin Sherman || rowspan="2"| BBC Two |- | Screen Two: "The Snapper" || Lynda Myles, Stephen Frears, Roddy Doyle |- | Screen One: "Wide-Eyed and Legless" || David Lascelles, Richard Loncraine, Jack Rosenthal || BBC One |- | rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"|1995 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Screen Two: "Skallagrigg" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|John Chapman, Richard Spence, Nigel Williams || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| BBC Two|- | The Dying of the Light || Peter Kosminsky, Hossein Amini || ITV |- | Screen One: "A Breed of Heroes" || Andrée Molyneux, Diarmuid Lawrence, Charles Wood || rowspan="2"| BBC One |- | Screen One: "Pat and Margaret" || Ruth Caleb, Gavin Millar, Victoria Wood |- | Stages: "Suffer the Little Children" || Jack Emery, Betsan Morris-Evans || BBC Two |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|1996 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Screen Two: "Persuasion" || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Fiona Finlay, Roger Michell, Nick Dear || style="background:#B0C4DE;"| BBC Two|- | Eleven Men Against Eleven || Jimmy Mulville, Andy Hamilton || Channel 4 |- | Go Now || Andrew Eaton, Michael Winterbottom, Paul Henry Powell, Jimmy McGovern || rowspan="2"| BBC One |- | Heroes And Villains: The Last Englishman || Sue Vertue, John Henderson, Anthony Horowitz |- | rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|1997 || style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Hillsborough Nicola Shindler, Charles McDougall, Jimmy McGovern, Katy Jones ITV Screen Two: "Crossing The Floor" Guy Jenkin, Lissa Evans BBC Two Screen Two: "The Precious Blood" Robert Cooper, Anthony Rowe, John Woods, Graham Reid Some Kind of Life Bill Boyes, Julian Jarrold, Kay Mellor ITV1998 No Child of Mine Peter Kosminsky, Guy Hibbert ITV Breaking the Code Jack Emery, Herbert Wise, Hugh Whitemore BBC Four Bumping the Odds Ian Madden, Rob Rohrer, Rona Munro BBC Scotland The Acid House: "The Granton Star Cause" David Muir, Alex Usbourne, Paul McGuigan, Irvine Welsh Channel 41999 A Rather English Marriage Joanna Willett, Paul Seed, Andrew Davies BBC Two A Life for a Life: The True Story of Stefan Kiszko Malcolm Craddock, Stephen Whittaker, Peter Berry ITV Talking Heads: "Playing Sandwiches" Mark Shivas, Udayan Prasad, Alan Bennett BBC One Talking Heads: "Waiting for the Telegram" Mark Shivas, Stuart Burge, Alan Bennett
2000s Year Title Recipient(s) Broadcaster2000 The Murder of Stephen Lawrence Mark Redhead, Paul Greengrass ITV Dockers Sally Hibbin, Bill Anderson, Jimmy McGovern Channel 4 Lost for Words Sita Williams, Alan JW Bell, Deric Longden ITV Sex 'N' Death Jane Featherstone, Guy Jenkin BBC One2001 Care Kieran Prendiville, Antonia Bird, Louise Panton, Ruth Caleb BBC One Donovan Quick Sue Austen, David Blair, Donna Franceschild BBC Two Nice Girl Ruth Caleb, Dominic Savage Storm Damage Ian Madden, Simon Cellan Jones, Lennie James2002 When I Was 12 Ruth Caleb, Dominic Savage BBC Two My Beautiful Son Jeff Pope, Bob Mills, Paul Seed, Tim Kazurinsky ITV Othello Anne Pivcevic, Julie Gardner, Geoffrey Sax, Andrew Davies The Navigators Rebecca O’Brien, Ken Loach, Rob Dawber Channel 42003 Conspiracy BBC Two/HBO Bloody Sunday Mark Redhead, Paul Greengrass ITV Flesh and Blood Derek Wax, Julian Farino, Peter Bowker BBC Two Tomorrow La Scala! Ruth Caleb, Chris Collins, Francesca Joseph2004 The Deal Christine Langan, Stephen Frears, Peter Morgan Channel 4 The Canterbury Tales: "The Wife of Bath" Kate Bartlett, Andy De Emmony, Sally Wainwright BBC OneDanielle Cable: Eyewitness ITV This Little Life Stewart Mackinnon, Sarah Gavron, Rosemary Kay BBC Two2005 Omagh Ed Guiney, Paul Greengrass, Pete Travis, Guy Hibbert Channel 4 Dirty Filthy Love Christine Langan, Adrian Shergold, Jeff Pope, Ian Puleston-Davies ITV Hawking Jessica Pope, Peter Moffat, Philip Martin BBC Two Not Only But Always Alison Jackson, Terry Johnson, Charles Pattinson, George Faber Channel 42006 The Government Inspector David Aukin, Jonathan Curling, Peter Kosminsky Channel 4 ShakespeaRe-Told: "Much Ado About Nothing" Diederick Santer, Brian Percival, David Nicholls BBC One The Queen's Sister Kath Mattock, Simon Cellan Jones, Craig Warner Channel 4Red Dust BBC Two2007 Housewife, 49 Victoria Wood, Piers Wenger, Gavin Millar, David Threlfall ITV Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! Andy De Emmony, Ben Evans, Martyn Hesford BBC Four Longford Peter Morgan, Tom Hooper, Helen Flint, Andy Harries Channel 4 The Road to Guantánamo Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross2008 The Mark of Cain Tony Marchant, Nicola Shindler, Lynn Horsford, Marc Munden Channel 4 Boy A John Crowley, Lynn Horsford, Mark O'Rowe Channel 4 Coming Down the Mountain Greg Brenman, Roanna Benn, Mark Haddon, Julie Anne Robinson BBC One The Trial of Tony Blair Alistair Beaton, Simon Cellan Jones, Hal Vogel, David Aukin More42009 White Girl Hettie Macdonald, Abi Morgan, Andrew Woodhead BBC Two Hancock and Joan Richard Cottan, Richard Laxton, Simon Heath BBC Four Einstein and Eddington George Faber, Mark Pybus, Peter Moffat, Philip Martin BBC Two The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall Simon Block, Rowan Joffé, Barney Reisz, Charles Furneaux Channel 4
2010s