TV Critics: Big Dreams, Small Spaces; Sea Cities; Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons

“The featured dreamers were charmingly amateur – which made the show accessible for all but the seasoned gardener – and their resulting gardens sweetly triumphant. But what elevated this from the humdrum was the host, whom we didn’t see enough of. Don appeared with the sceptical wisdom of a linen-clad garden Gandalf.”
Alice Vincent, The Telegraph

“All this is entertaining for the general viewer and those of us who, as spring looms, are starting to wonder whether this might be the year to learn the difference between dandelions and dahlias. But the show also has to cater to the dedicated gardener, offering useful tips and advice, and this is what Monty does so well.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The series shared the same laid-back charm of its presenter. It was also aspirational in the best possible sense, ditching sky-high budgets and daft time limits in favour of practical, comprehensible gardening advice.”
Gabriel Tate, The Times

“I’m sure this series will inspire gardeners all over Britain to embark on their own badly compromised projects. Me, I’m going to continue to enjoy it for all the wrong reasons, while lying very still.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“This hasn’t been a bold or particularly thrilling TV series, you might even call it modest. But with its ambitions and its honest approach it has captured the excitement and the promise of the salt air.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“It was all pretty bleak, and the message remained obscure, while the tabloid approach allied to a whizz-bang-wallop production became exhausting. Yet there was a visceral charge, urgency and excitement that simply couldn’t be denied.”
Gabriel Tate, The Times