Sticks and Stones; Responsible Child; A Berry Royal Christmas

“Sticks and Stones was baffling. Adapted by Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster) from his 2013 play, Bull, this three-part drama sets out to explore workplace bullying. It’s an interesting premise but, in the first episode, the tone lurched so recklessly from melodrama to farce, it left me feeling a bit dazed. I still have no idea if we’re meant to be taking the programme seriously.”
Rupert Hawksley, The i

“As with Doctor Foster, we are in a heightened version of the Home Counties where nothing feels wholly plausible. By leavening the psychological savagery with jollity, Bartlett leaves you feeling vaguely queasy. It’s not quite clear how entertaining this is all meant to be. It will only really be dramatically satisfying if, unlike in Bull, Thomas fights back.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“In its execution it was a strange combination of being painful to watch yet too slickly over-stylised to be credible. The bullies seemed two-dimensional, but the actors’ performances were good. Bartlett is a sure pair of hands, but although there were elements of slapstick, they weren’t funny. It felt like neither serious drama nor comedy.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“This isn’t quite Ricky Gervais’s Office, but it’s in the same business park, so to speak. We’re watching an incompetent middle manager having a bad week, nothing more. It’s hard to retain sympathy for Thomas if he doesn’t fight back.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The alternating of this timeline with the other dissipates the emotional tension and narrative torque, especially as this film’s court scenes are thin, dry things and the fine actors in them are given little to work with. There are clunky moments scattered about, too, when the pedagogic intent overrides the dramatic. But if the first hour slows the pace and keeps the viewer at a slight distance, the last half-hour pulls things together – and us in.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Not all children in court are as saintly. Nor are their victims as villainous: the axe-wielding stepfather Scott (Shaun Dingwall) was Bill Sikes with a man-bun. By alighting on such a paragon, the drama could be accused of loading the dice.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“Billy Barratt played 12-year-old Ray is also aged just 12. To put in a performance of such power, subtlety and maturity on a subject so harrowing is exceptional. Barratt is obviously a talent to watch. But, as with all the cast, he was helped by a great script and a writer (Sean Buckley) who knew that sometimes silence is the best dialogue.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Unfortunately, Responsible Child, based on the case of Jerome Ellis in 2014 and written by Skins’ Sean Buckley, lacked the nuance to provide real insight. At no point during the 96 minutes was the writer’s position – that children should not be tried for murder as adults – properly interrogated.”
Rupert Hawksley, The i

“His defence team bewailed a world that could put a boy of 12 in the dock. They all called him ‘mate’ and ‘my friend’, and were so patronisingly trendy that I wouldn’t have blamed Ray if he’d murdered the lot of them. The star, though, was Billy Barratt as Ray, whose churning emotions were locked away behind a blank stare. This young actor is one to watch.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“This was a gentle hour of good cheer; even if the punning title didn’t quite work, the frothy blend of documentary and cookery show did. The whole show was generous-spirited, uplifting and irresistibly festive: ideal background viewing while wrapping presents or writing cards. An hour spent in the company of royalty – oh, and the Cambridges – is rarely wasted.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph