TV Critics: Murder on the Home Front; The Politician's Husband; Sex on Wheels; Bradford: City of Dreams

“Murder on the Home Front is an odd one – sort of CSI London 1940, forensic dissection with a good glug of the blitz spirit. I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to be sitting on the edge of my seat, watching from behind the sofa, or rolf-ing. In the end I was left feeling not very much of anything.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Edgy and darkly comic, it lured us in with raucous scenes of cigar-fugged pubs and dance halls – and then served up three murders, mutilated tongues and a gory inner-city morgue in just 60 minutes… Episode one was compelling and beautifully shot – some scenes seemed almost sepia-toned – and a gripping account of primitive DNA profiling.”
Sarah Rainey, The Telegraph

“It’s had a mixed response – some say it’s a poor man’s Borgen – but this was a fitting end to a well-crafted miniseries. Unfortunately for Tennant (the troubled Aiden Hoynes), he was upstaged once again by the female lead – first Olivia Colman in Broadchurch, now Emily Watson as his embittered wife Freya… However, it was the personal stories underpinning the politics that saved it for me. Tennant’s angst-ridden relationship with his son Noah was convincing; as was Watson’s struggle to trust her slippery, streaky-haired man. Both the politician and her husband, trapped in their husk of a marriage, went out with a bang. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait two more decades for part three.”
Sarah Rainey, The Telegraph

“This might have been prurient, but what made Emma Young’s documentary so heartening was the openness and honesty of her subjects. They didn’t come across  as exhibitionists, not even Pete from Hampshire, who has cerebral palsy and dreams of becoming a porn star.”
Gerard Gilbert, The Independent

“In a post-industrial city scarred by the 2001 race riots, Graham has bridged the city’s ethnic divide and discovered that learning a few words of Urdu goes a long way, becoming both the builder and the grave-digger of choice to the city’s Asian community. This simple illustration of pragmatic economics was part of a determinedly upbeat look at the Yorkshire city… The suggestion that the solution lies in enterprising  individuals like Graham might be hopelessly optimistic, but then optimism is in short supply at the moment.”
Gerard Gilbert, The Independent

“I’m finding Frankie’s story rather touching. King’s too. All of it, to be honest. And PO’G is charming. As for the puppies abandoned by their mummy … OMG, how cute! Look, at that one, swimming in the air with its eyes closed while it sucks milk from a volunteer-held bottle. Adorable! I want one! If not for ever, for Christmas at least.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian