7 of the best hidden-gem ITV programmes with 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores

Time to add these to your watch list. (Picture: Rex/ITV)

Reality TV season is in full swing over on ITV, with Big Brother reaching its final and I’m A Celebrity kicking off just hours later.

But if you’re looking for more drama to binge rather than patiently waiting a few more hours to see the antics in the jungle, we’ve got you covered.

Streaming service ITVX has plenty to offer with nostalgic boxsets, fan-favourites and award-winning shows waiting to be watched.

We’ve rounded up just seven of the best, that have all achieved perfect 100% scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Nolly

Helena Bonham Carter took on the role of Noele ‘Nolly’ Gordon for this ITV series, which premiered last year and was created by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies.

It followed the beloved Crossroads actress who was unceremoniously axed in a shock decision in 1981.

Nolly played Meg Richardson in the soap before her fall from grace, with Harry Potter actress Helena saying of taking on the role: ‘Noele Gordon was a fascinating, complex, brilliant and gutsy woman – none of which I knew before I read Russell T Davies’ script.

‘I’m so thrilled to help tell Nolly’s long overdue and largely forgotten story. Russell’s screenplay is a work of brilliance and I hope I’ll do him and Nolly justice. I can’t wait to start.’

The biographical miniseries has been hailed as ‘so well written, so well cast and executed’ on Rotten Tomatoes, with one critic calling it ‘a clear contender to be one of the best miniseries of the year’.

The Tower

Another hidden gem available on ITVX is police drama The Tower, based on Kate London’s Metropolitan book series.

It stars Gemma Whelan, Tahirah Sharif and Jimmy Akingbola, and is set in south London.

Comparable to Line of Duty, the first season of The Tower followed the death of a police officer and teenage civilian after they fell from a tower block under mysterious circumstances.

The second season of the gripping series centred on crimes against women, with a missing girl case, as well as domestic violence, while the third explored knife crime.

The Tower has yet to be renewed for a fourth season, but fans have been left begging for more.

The Twelve

Fans were left ‘on the edge of their seats’ when the second season of The Twelve hit ITVX this year.

Based on a Belgian mini-series, the drama first aired in Australia in 2019, and racked up a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

It followed the story of Kate Lawson, who went on trial for the alleged murder of her niece and how the twelve jurors bring their personal lives and prejudices to the courtroom.

The second season focuses on Bernice Price (Kris McQuade) who was found dead on her family’s property, with Sam Neill reprising his role as criminal barrister Brett Colby.

‘It’s a grimly convoluted but gripping tale, with a distinct emphasis on the manipulation of women by toxic male figures,’ one Rotten Tomatoes critic summarised.

Holding

Graham Norton’s novel Holding was transformed into a TV adaptation in 2022, following Sergeant Patrick Joseph (Conleth Hill) discovering secrets about a quiet Irish town.

When he comes across a skeleton at a building site, his life in a peaceful Cork village is thrown into chaos.

The series also stars Siobhan McSweeney, Charlene McKenna and Helen Behan.

‘I just thought he was a really multi-faceted character, but none of the kind of clichés that you’d expect from a leading detective and something. So yeah, [that anti-hero aspect] did appeal to me. And I think it was developed from the novel as well… so it was just a gift,’ Conleth told RadioTimes of the role.

Anne

Anne delved into the tragedy of the Hillsborough disaster, based on real events of one mother’s fight to get justice for her son.

97 people died as a result of being crushed at Leppings Lane during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15 1989.

An original inquest was quashed in December 2012, following a campaign by the bereaved families, and the High Court ordered a fresh hearing.

The second inquest found in 2016 that 96 of the people who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed, overturning the original verdict of accidental death. The 97th victim, Andrew Devine, died in 2021 after suffering brain damage.

The Maxine Peake-starring series followed the 3.15pm cut off time from the original inquest, in which only the events before were investigated.

The show has won unanimous praise, but the most important feedback came from the daughter of the real Anne Williams, Sara, who told writer Kevin Sampson that she had an ‘uncanny’ resemblance to her mother in the series. 

Prime Suspect

Another award-winning ITV police drama with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score is Prime Suspect, which starred Dame Helen Mirren as DC Jane Tennison.

Across seven seasons, not only did viewers witness Tennison uncovering various cases, but also fighting to assert herself in a male-dominated profession.

The show has won several Bafta awards, Emmy awards and a Peabody award, with Dame Helen winning three Bafta TV awards for best actress, and having been nominated a further three times, as well as two Emmy wins and four nominations for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie.

Speaking of her iconic role, which began in 1992, Dame Helen told Harper’s Bazaar in 2022: ‘I was very lucky that Prime Suspect was such an iconic moment in television.

‘In general, in the presentation of women on screen. Culturally, it was quite an important moment. It was a role that transformed how people looked at me at that time.’

Prey

Crime thriller Prey was branded an ‘engrossing, dynamic series’ after the first season launched in 2014.

It followed DC Marcus Farrow (John Simm) whose life fell apart after finding out his ex-wife and son had been murdered, with all the evidence pointing to him.

The police officer ends up on the run, while trying to find out who killed his family.

Season two, which followed in 2015, saw Philip Glenister as prison officer David Murdoch, who is on a hunt to save his daughter after she was kidnapped.

‘Prey… is a near perfect blend of well-crafted characterizations within the context of a credibly gripping murder case,’ one critic praised on Rotten Tomatoes, while others urged fans of British police dramas to watch.

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