TV Critics: Jamie’s Cracking Christmas; Toast of London; Gotham; Inside Tatler; Confessions of...

“I like Jamie and his glottal-stopped formulae: “little wobble in the middle”; “nuffin’ technical or cheffy”; “give it a spank”. He knows how to cook and how to enthuse viewers. But beef Wellington is hard to cook just right.”
Christopher Howse, The Telegraph

“It was gently challenging for home cooks without the risk of upsetting the traditionalists.”
Ellen E Jones, The Independent

“Nobody makes cooking look easier or more inviting, more rewarding, more altogether than Jamie.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“I hope we see more of Matt Berry and his co-writer Arthur Mathews’s fantasy brand of comedy. Whether that should be with the unlovable but pitiable Toast, I’m not so sure.”
Christopher Howse, The Telegraph

“Josh Homme’s cameo in “Fool in Love” was exactly the sort of pointless, “meet my famous chums” name-dropping that Toast of London usually skewers so mercilessly. It made for a disappointingly dull denouement to the best sitcom on television.”
Ellen E Jones, The Independent

“Though dark and brooding in its visual style, Gotham is, at its core, cheerfully frothy – a series that seeks to be loved rather than admired, to entertain rather than engage the intellect. Far from a drawback, cheesy exuberance has turned out to be its most charming quality.”
Ed Power, The Telegraph

“Think of it as the unwatchable in pursuit of the unreadable.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“A strong, if essentially downbeat, finish to a brilliantly executed series. I’d like a second one, on journalists, lawyers, social workers and parish priests please. Thank you.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian