TV Critics: Operation Stonehenge; Who Do You Think You Are?; Penguins on a Plane; Bad Bridesmaid

“When described with the engaging enthusiasm of David Jacques from the University of Buckingham, even a dismally untelegenic pile of rock – always the blight of TV archaeology – can capture our interest.”
Ellen E Jones, The Independent

“I like it very much, with the proviso that grey-tinted Druidic recreations by unconvincingly bewigged actors be kept to an absolute minimum. Operation Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath came within a Neanderthal ridge of running foul of this rule, but was otherwise splendid.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Last night’s Operation Stonehenge: What Lies Beneath did the project’s credibility few favours. It neglected to interrogate any of the assertions the scientists were making from what looked like pretty meagre evidence.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“Presented fairly early on in the programme the dayglo flints were something of a high point for this viewer, whose lifelong fascination with Stonehenge paled under all the less arresting detail.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“As ever, the show impressed with its research and the genealogists’ expertise in drawing conclusions about a person from an entry in a census. Best of all, it offered a glimpse of the true Mary Berry.”
Sarah Rainey, The Telegraph

“At its best, this history show can be as absorbing as a well-plotted police procedural. No special effects, no globehopping, no glamorous supporting cast — this is primetime TV on a daytime budget.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The show had all the ingredients of frothy entertainment: colourful characters and cartoon maps depicting the animals’ journeys – but we never saw penguins on a plane.”
Sarah Rainey, The Telegraph

“There was some amusement to be had in watching the other hens progress from nervous giggles to outright hostility, but the behaviour of Francesca (aka comedian Anna Morris) was never outrageous enough to really entertain. Effortlessly embarrassing real relatives will always trump a ‘comedy-reality-hybrid’ creation.”
Ellen E Jones, The Independent