TV Critics: George III; Art of France; French Adventure

“The Genius of the Mad King promised much in revealing the contents of the monarch’s newly released personal papers. Yet, with the greatest respect to its presenter, Robert Hardman, it showed what happens when history doesn’t have a gifted communicator powering a story with daring ideas. This simply felt like a Royalty Magazine article brought to life.”
James Jackson, The Times

“If you’re missing several billion brain cells, you may well have enjoyed The Genius of the Mad King. Here was another frustratingly GCSE-level slice of history from the BBC, determined to patronise viewers with bland pedagogic instruction.”
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph

“The programme was by no means exhaustive – a bare-branched biography hung with a few shiny baubles from the vault – but it made for a worthy introduction to an admirable project.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“In TV viewing terms, few sights can compare with the giddy, trembling excitement of a bunch of academics being let loose on the parchment for the first time.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“This documentary was an illuminating glimpse into the national peculiarities that inform French art and architecture. Everything in it was worth knowing.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“Art of France is proof that the Corporation can still make documentaries of considerable erudition.”
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph

“So convincing, so impassioned is Andrew Graham-Dixon’s eloquence while beholding a basilica façade or focusing on a rococo cherub that he could have been describing his hotel’s breakfast and you’d be rapt.”
James Jackson, The Times

“This wasn’t so much a cookery programme more a serious drinking session with some shallots and a souffle on the side.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail