Esther Rantzen: Living with Grief; 76 Days; Gardening with Carol Klein

“The point of Esther Rantzen: Living with Grief was to show that everybody grieves in their own way; the pain is bespoke. As a documentary it was, sadly, perfectly timed. Death has topped the news every day for the past year. A hugely worthwhile documentary.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The rawest story came from Mandy, 61, who was taken to hospital with coronavirus at the same time as Larry, her husband of 40 years. She survived, he didn’t — and restrictions meant she wasn’t even allowed to visit his body in the morgue. All Esther’s subjects had useful insights to offer, eloquently expressed. As she emphasised, there’s no right or wrong way to grieve, but anyone who is mourning a loved one would find slivers of consolation somewhere in this 90-minute programme.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Rantzen’s Zoom chats were cathartic, for her, for her interviewees, and for the viewer, but some details struck hard. Gary couldn’t sleep on his wife’s side of the bed after she died.”
Chris Bennion, The Telegraph

“There are no hugely dramatic moments. It is wholly unsentimental and, allowing for the fact the stream of events must be put into some kind of narrative form, unmanipulative. Everything builds by increments. It is tiny, quiet exchanges that knock the wind out of you and show how immersed you have become in the small, enclosed world.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The point of a show like this is not to learn anything. It is to know that there are people like Klein, experts, passionate about their work, who take an earnest pleasure in sharing their knowledge. My garden may be a mess, but Klein’s is a wonder, and that’s alright by me.”
Chris Bennion, The Telegraph