Car Share Unscripted; Genderquake; The Road to Palmyra

“What a lovely amuse-bouche this was as we eagerly await the main course. It could have been horribly indulgent (and corpsing was never far away) but this was no out-takes reel in the making. Kay and Gibson stayed in character throughout and have an obvious rapport that threw up some superb comedy.”
Veronica Lee, The Telegraph

“It nailed the beautifully mundane meanderings of a chat between two people who are entirely at ease together. Outside the windows, the incidental details – not improvised, but who cares? – were as pleasing as ever. You did miss the drive of a plot and the satisfying thunk of punchlines landing, though.”
Alice Jones, The i

“The best bits of this comedy experiment turn out to be the pre-planned elements, often leaving the ad-libbed material stalled at the traffic lights.”
Julia Raeside, The Guardian

“When I saw the blurb for Genderquake, I sighed, assuming it would be the same old Big Brother shtick: manipulated conflict, tears, drama. And indeed it was all of those things. Yet it was also hugely moving and educational television about the pain, bullying and trauma suffered by people who feel they have been born in the wrong body.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“I admit that I feared the worst: Big Brother on mephedrone. What we got last night in the first of this two-parter, though, was a thoughtful documentary, which may have challenged more than a few opinions of viewers – and participants. Of course, the feeling that producers were orchestrating spats and alliances was never far away.”
Michael Day, The i

“Genderquake isn’t perfect. With rawness like this on display, it’s hard not to wonder about the element of engineered confrontation that’s inherent to this kind of format. Still, it mostly hits exactly the right notes.”
Phil Harrison, The Guardian

“There were valuable insights to be gleaned from Genderquake. If only the show had trusted its participants to offer those insights, without resorting to cheap, potentially damaging, shock tactics.”
Alexandra Pollard, The Telegraph

“There were essentially two documentaries in tandem here: the human and cultural cost of the savagery in Syria, but also the strangely charming road trip of Dan Cruickshank and Don McCullin. McCullin said he would probably never return here. If this was his swansong, it was a fine one.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“McCullin’s economy with words was balanced by the verbosity of Cruickshank, who wouldn’t shut up. The more upset the historian became at the sacrilege, the more garrulous he became. He seemed to be trying to repair the damage with descriptions, but nothing he said could heal the horror.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

• Behind the Scenes on The Road to Palmyra