Mother’s Day; Married to a Paedophile; Reported Missing

“Bafta-winning writer Nick Leather and director Fergus O’Brien fashioned a story that was both heartbreakingly sad and winningly uplifting. This was a fine, emotionally absorbing drama that succeeded as a commemoration of individual courage and a wider affirmation of just how much can be achieved when people stand up together against violence and terrorism.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“The Warrington bombings were part of a vast, complex story. What Mother’s Day does is provide a way into that story – a touching, human, desperately sad, but ultimately inspiring way in.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“In TV terms it was as compelling an opener as you could get, yet how wrong ‘compelling’ sounds since we’re talking about the murder of children. That hospital scene in which Tim’s mother, Wendy (Anna Maxwell Martin), stroked her boy’s toe, the only part of his wrecked little body not bandaged, and said, ‘Hello, sweetheart, Mummy’s here,’ felt like a punch in the throat.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“I’ve recently returned from a short break in Northern Ireland and over the (for now) almost unmarked border into the Republic. The people I spoke to were deeply worried by the wounds that Brexit could reopen and the hostilities that might resume. For the rest of us on mainland Britain, Mother’s Day was a timely reminder why.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i

“This well made, well performed film was tough viewing. Why two loved husbands and fathers would commit such crimes remained perplexing. But there could be no doubting the devastating, and ongoing, pain and distress wrought on their families as a result.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“Colette Camden extracted honest, unvarnished audio interviews, which were then lip-synced by the actors – a technique that worked well. Camden proved to be a deft interviewer, inserting questions with the precision of a professional assassin.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i

“It does look a bit weird if you watch out for it, but it’s easy to forget and just go with it. The result is a revealing exploration of the most difficult subject.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“The first half of Reported Missing panned out like a TV thriller. Except that the story was real and utterly perverse. One individual’s misfortune was our gain because it made great television.”
Carol Midgley, The Times