TV Critics: The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs; Absolutely Fashion; Inside Scotland Yard

“A blend of science documentary and social experiment which was both eye-opening and surprisingly entertaining. This film’s mix of reality-show-style stunts and serious intent hit the spot. I’ll be getting a prescription for the concluding episode next Thursday.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph

“This was an important programme, but it will need to be a campaign if it is going to change anything and even then … Van Tulleken’s alternative remedies were time-consuming for both patients and their physicians. Goodbye rushed ten-minute consultations. Hello home visits.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“If the mission is a good one, the lightweight commission that has resulted is deeply flawed. Beneath these statistics and beneath several other moments in the programme lie questions so extraordinarily complicated and pressing that to ignore them in favour of the traditional social experiment route seems absurd.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“This looked like a nasty dose of telepresenteritis, an ego condition spread by cameras. Serious infections can develop into a messiah complex, where the victim is convinced that his destiny is to save the world by making shoddy BBC1 documentaries.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“In the end the problem with the excellent Richard Macer’s documentary Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue was that it became a film about making a film. No one won really: neither Macer nor the viewers, but not Alexandra the Great either, the queen of bad faith.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“There was a snide, sexist tone as the male film-maker sneered at the female-dominated fashion business. Macer had a reductive agenda to present Shulman as a power-crazed caricature, when she actually seemed pretty normal. By the end, I was cheering her on.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph

“These two programmes in the company of Sir Trevor certainly covered a lot of thought-provoking stuff, from the skill and bravery of the Met’s anti-terror experts to the less commendable side of police history. The interview with Norwell Roberts, the Met’s first black police officer, was particularly revealing.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express