A Tale of Two Cities is a British television series which first aired on BBC 1 in 1980.

It is an adaptation of the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

[2] Paul Shelley plays the duel roles of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, the first actor to do so since William Farnum in the 1917 silent adaptation.

[3] Two weeks later, an American production was released featuring Chris Sarandon in the same duel roles.

[4] It is the only BBC adaptation known to exist entirely.