4 Mar '11

“Hello and welcome to the new Channel 4 reality TV series How Racist Are You? Brackets And Willing to Demonstrate on Television Close Brackets!”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Channel 4 appears considerably more prudish about their contestants than anyone in Grassington. “What do you think the locals will make of a black family?” asked a silent interviewer, repeatedly, of the sweet-looking ladies drinking tea and manning shops. Everyone agreed they’ll stand out.”
Alice-Azania Jarvis, The Independent

“It has nothing to do with policies or prejudices, instead it’s all about who’s got the pork pies.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“By pitting a black family against a white one led by a Yorkshire carpenter who looked like Robson Green, the producers must have hoped that Grassington would reveal itself a bed of racism.”…”This is not sociology. It’s begging”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“The money shot in these things is Celebrity Weeps. They did. But there was a twist.”…”At least there was an alternative money shot: the caption telling us to text HELP to Comic Relief to donate a fiver.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“There is always a grace to Comic Relief’s programmes that marks them out from the rest of the fundraising herd. Last night’s opening episode, despite the crass title Famous, Rich and in the Slums, was no exception.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Along the way, inevitably, they got a tiny taste of the discomfort that characterises daily life here. It was nothing, really, in the scheme of things, though it was more than enough to make for compelling viewing.”
Alice-Azania Jarvis, The Independent

“History, mystery, film clips and gory deaths, this documentary certainly had enough to get your teeth stuck into.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express