“Back with more high-gloss trickery.” Read on for the critics' full verdict on last night's TV.

Hustle, BBC1
“Back with more high-gloss trickery.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

Hustle, BBC1
“My guess is that viewers revelling in its surface gloss, gorgeous clothes and glossy hair won't welcome the intrusion of too much reality.”
Tim Teeman, The Times

Hustle, BBC1
“As always, the plot was riddled with implausibilities and inconsistencies, but at its best Hustle is very charming and manages to pull its own con: making a BBC budget look like HBO. At its worst, it's irritatingly conscious of its charm.”
Robert Hanks, The Independent

Hustle, BBC1
“No lines stick in the memory and there are no great moments to go into our personal scrapbooks - it's like a meringue in a cake shop window. Bite in, and you'll discover a great big nothing.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

Life of Riley, BBC1
“It's rather like The Brady Bunch, only with the central premise watered down owing to budgetary restrictions, and sits comfortably in the category ‘family sitcom'.”
Robert Hanks, The Independent

Life of Riley, BBC1
“Have you always found My Family a bit too cutting-edge? Or longed for a new version of The Brady Bunch, but without the satire (or the songs)? Then surely you're the intended audience for The Life Of Riley.”
Andrea Mullaney, The Scotsman

Victorian Farm, BBC2
“This wasn't reality TV so much as social documentary with a bit of dressing up, and there was some thoughtful talk hidden among the waffle.”
Robert Hanks, The Independent

Dexter, ITV1
“This thrilling series is brilliantly constructed and full of the blackest humour.”
Andrea Mullaney, The Scotsman

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