18 May '09

The Unloved, C4
“Weighing in to a drama like this would be tantamount to saying that you don’t give a damn about abandoned children or that you’d prefer it if Channel 4 had run a repeat of A Place in the Sun. It’s one of those dramas that allow commissioning editors to hold their heads up when people start muttering about the public service remit; one of those dramas that is invariably described as ‘powerful’, which is often simply another way of saying ‘it depressed me’.
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

The Unloved, C4
“One of those Ken Loach-style, hyper-real, docu-like dramas […] This was an ‘artistic’ film, or, to put it another way, not a very good one.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

The Unloved, C4
“Extraordinary.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

The Unloved, C4
“Everything about The Unloved added to its power: Samantha Morton’s input, Tony Grisoni’s script, some hauntingly beautiful filming.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

Pulling, BBC3
“It was funny.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

Pulling, BBC3
“I’m a disciple of Pulling, and I will continue to spread the word. Along with Green Wing, The Thick of It and Nighty Night, it has been a comedy treat of these post-Office years.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

Kerry Katona: What’s the Problem?
“MTV’s answer to ITV2’s Katie Price and Peter Andre.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, C4
“I find him simultaneously admirable and absurd; his survivalist skills are astonishing, but his reckless, declamatory enthusiasm makes him seem slightly demented. As a natural born coward, I cannot begin to understand what compels him.”
Paul Whitelaw, The Scotsman