The BBC Television Shakespeare — Season 1, Episode 7: The First Part of King Henry the Fourth with the Life and Death of Henry Surnamed Hotspur

Episode synopsis

Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, redeem himself in his father's eyes and help suppress the uprising.

About The BBC Television Shakespeare

The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Romeo & Juliet
• E2King Richard the Second
• E3As You Like It
• E4Julius Caesar
• E5Measure for Measure
• E6The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight
• E8The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift
• E9The Life of Henry the Fifth
• E10Twelfth Night
• E11The Tempest
• E12Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
• E13The Taming of the Shrew