TV Critics: The Kumars; Hidden Histories; Finding Mum and Dad

“Despite their lengthy absence from our screens, the set-up – straight-man son and irritating (to him at least) family members – still works. It’s good to have them back.”
Will Dean, The Independent

“It was warm, obvious and occasionally unpredictable, and as such was jolly good fun.”
Jake Wallis Simons, The Telegraph

“Sky’s claim to originality is weakened by every programme it disinters from terrestrial television, but I had not realised how much I had missed Meera Syal dressed up as an old lady. Unmi’s family business will not run for 500 years but, on this reckoning, it has a few years trading in it yet.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“It was all quite jolly exploring the history of butchery through the family firm of Balson’s of Bridport and following the proprietor, Richard, on his trawls through the local archives, though I increasingly felt the programme was of much more value to him than it was to me.”
John Crace, The Guardian

“At times the Balson 550-years succession story was just dull. It was a nutricuous hour rather than a prime cut.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“There was plenty to sink your teeth into: relatives who had mysteriously died and vanished, shadowy, unidentified ancestors in photographs and sudden switches in the line of inheritance. All was spiced by Balson’s mellow, diverting meditations on, among other things, the nature of father-son relationships.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“Adoption agencies have been piloting a scheme, pioneered in the US, in which couples looking to adopt and children on the adoption register are brought together for a party. Finding Mum and Dad was there to record the results. It did so forensically and without judgment, and didn’t make for easy viewing.”
John Crace, The Guardian

“The documentary’s hands-off, fly-on-the-wall approach captured the plights of Connor and Daniel with heartbreaking limpidity. Had it grappled with the moral difficulties at the heart of the matter, however, it would have made even more meaningful viewing.”
Jake Wallis Simons, The Telegraph

“Because Connor and Daniel are  relatively old, male and come as a package, they’re proving difficult to find a home. Which, even as a casual viewer, was a heart-melter. If there is a plus, it’s that this fine film will probably increase their chances of doing so by multitudes.”
Will Dean, The Independent

“It was painful: painful to know that their pain must have been a thousand times greater than yours and painful to know that this whole stressful procedure was still the best chance some children were going to have.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express