9 Dec ‘10

“It was a typical Apprentice task: a pantomime wheeze designed to elicit the worst possible behaviour from six of the biggest dunderskulls on TV. And it worked.”
Sarah Dempster, The Guardian

“The remaining contestants – just six of them now – had been invited to set up rival bus tours, thus exposing the less wary foreign visitor to the full range of their incompetence, ignorance and financial rapacity.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“Yesterday’s antepenultimate edition of the series was cleverer than it looked, even if it made the contestants look stupider.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“There is enthusiasm, respect for our forebears’ extraordinary forbearance (albeit implied – there is no room here for preachiness or handwringing), and the tacit acknowledgment that tedium and discomfort are vital components of the authentic mock-20th century smallholding experience.”
Sarah Dempster, The Guardian

“It is nightmarish, a guide to Christmas preparations that seems to be aimed at viewers with no job and a private income.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“With constant, wry comparisons of the ancient world to modern Mediterraneans, this series can sometimes seem a little tiresome, as if it’s trying too hard to make us believe the roots of our existence lie far back in the classical world.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“It’s hard to square the passions of and soaring craziness of the German past with the ideas we have now of the nation which is one reason why this otherwise bland walking tour captures our interest.”
Matt Baylis, The Express