“She’s just a teeny bit, how can I say this… unspicy.” Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

The Spice Trail

The Spice Trail, BBC2

“I’m going to be mean and horrid about Kate Humble at this point, so if you are Kate Humble, look away now. She’s just a teeny bit, how can I say this … unspicy. Brilliant on Springwatch, with all those other people. But an hour, on her own – by the end of it, I felt as if I’d been on holiday to south Asia with the head girl.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“In general the spice trade, engine for empires and slavery, spark plug of wars and discoveries, is a fascinating topic. It’s just a shame about Kate.”
Matt Baylis, The Daily Express

“One of the things that made The Spice Trail so watchable was the enthusiasm – the effusiveness – of all involved. No one looked like they’d been kowtowed into it by some executive. They all seemed to be genuinely engaged.”
Alice-Azania Jarvis, The Independent

Marchlands, ITV1

“So, despite a promising start and a stellar cast, Marchlands is simply lingering too long to be believable now.”
Matt Bayils, The Daily Express

“There is only one thing that this supernatural thriller, eked out over three time frames, needs to do and that is to scare us, and it doesn’t.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

Mad Dogs, Sky1

“Mad Dogs lurches between psychological thriller, black comedy, a deconstruction of male friendship and Shallow Grave but the dialogue is fun and the performances, especially by Phillip Glenister and John Smith, superb. It’s the classic choice at 9pm.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

MasterChef, BBC1

“Gone are any lingering traces of the programme’s low-key Grossman days. In their place we’ve got the kind of slick showmanship more often seen on ITV.”
Alice-Azania Jarvis, The Independent

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