Muzlamic; Expedition with Steve Backshall; Beecham House; Poldark

“This pilot, at a zippy 15 minutes long, is written and performed by the goofy, occasionally too Ali G-ish comedians Ali Shahalom and Aatif Nawaz. White fragility, racial stereotyping and unconscious biases are all serious subjects ripe for laughs. In Muzlamic, the material is spot on, but the comedy tends to fall short.”
Chirtra Ramaswamy, The Guardian

“Steve Backshall’s keen-eyed curiosity is infectious and useful in masking that nothing much happens in a South American jungle except for the relentless wolf-whistling of a bird put on Earth to drive explorers mad. Suriname is still a dangerous, wonderfully remote place, though (the logistics and camera-schlepping that must have gone into this series are to be applauded). And being more Irwin than Attenborough, Backshall is an expert at conveying boy’s own adventure and vicious natural history.”
James Jackson, The Times

“It takes a certain confidence to end the first season of a new series on a huge cliff-hanger. Arguably an overconfidence, where ITV’s Beecham House is concerned. Gurindha Chada’s Delhi Downton has constantly threatened to ignite without ever quite managing to, and this final episode highlighted most of the problems. Frustratingly there were moments – as there have been all series – when you could glimpse the show that might have been.”
Sarah Hughes, The i

“Beecham House’s dialogue is hewn from blocks of marble. The plot lumbers along like an elephant wearing a blindfold — it has no idea what it’s doing, yet we can all see what’s coming. Worst of all are the action sequences.

When villainous Sam Nasty (Marc Warren) stabbed the enigmatic Colonel Le Frenchman (Gregory Fitoussi), our hero (Tom Bateman) was rooted treelike to the spot. Every scene is drenched in colour and wrapped in lovely silks, it’s true, but the cast has been dire. The show’s title is especially apt… Beech Ham House, the home of solid wood and terrible acting.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail