Celebrity Race Across the World; Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story; Emily in Paris

“In this era of endless recycled formats and a growing disillusionment with the concept of ‘celebrity’ more generally, it can be easy to feel cynical about the idea of radio presenters and actors putting themselves through their paces to prove they are just like us. But Celebrity Race Across the World has an unusually calming and warming effect on the heart. It helps that they have chosen a bunch of really likable people. There are no villains, and no egos disguised beneath the faux-humbleness that those brushed with fame tend to inhabit. This is more about people finding themselves and each other as they experience things they wouldn’t usually. And it is utterly, wonderfully captivating.”
Daisy Jones, The Guardian

“Celebrity versions of TV shows often pale in comparison to the real thing, but this one is a winner. All of the pairings are entertaining, with the non-celebrity partners turning out to be the funny ones, and the ones with more nous.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“With or without celebrities, Race Across The World has become one of the Beeb’s most successful formats. It strikes the right balance between showing us parts of the planet we might never have dreamt existed, and giving us an insight into the bonds between those couples taking part.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“I can’t bear I’m A Celebrity, whose gruesome challenges only lend more drama, gravitas and attention to the lives of people who have had their fair share already – but Celebrity Race Across the World, with its money belts and service stations and mundane stress, is a true leveller. Nothing humanises someone like watching them sprint, exhausted and filthy, through the suburbs of a Brazilian town carrying a heavy backpack while trying not to lose it at their child/parent/cousin/significant other.”
Emily Bootle, The i

“It’s shaping up to be a good series and so far proves the tortoise can indeed steal a march on the hare.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Kidnapped is true crime done sensitively but which never forgets its first duty is to reel the viewer in. The logic seems to be that Ayling’s message about the importance of believing survivors is best conveyed within the framework of a pressure cooker drama. It gives a voice to the victim while also delivering three hours of nerve-shredding television.”
Ed Power, The Telegraph

“As well as a gripping, propellant drama, Kidnapped is a vital and urgent denouncement of how Chloe Ayling was treated. The public interrogation of her should be a source of national shame.”
Emily Baker, The i

“Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story did a sensitive job of getting the tone right while exploring public cynicism and its problem with the ‘imperfect’ victim.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Kidnapped trades on its veracity, but without a criminal mastermind’s psyche to explore the truth here is frustrating. There’s a lot of inert drama to plough through before later episodes focus more rewardingly on Ayling’s time in the public eye. Much of her difficulty in explaining herself came from the fact that her true story was convoluted and nonsensical. Ayling couldn’t shape it into a compelling narrative; nor can Kidnapped.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“Four seasons in to Emily in Paris, the show feels like it is about less than nothing; it has morphed into a black hole devoid of plot, charisma and intrigue. The most ‘drama’comes from Emily’s professional struggles, as – much like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The X-Files – brand marketing presents her with a ‘monster of the week’ to defeat. In every episode, she has to use her talent and sunny disposition to ensure social media strategies are executed with aplomb. To say that this is as thrilling as watching paint dry would be a disservice to the many excellent shades of paint.”
Leila Latif, The Guardian

“A show once notable for its relentless perkiness now has all the youthful vigour of Serge Gainsbourg after a lifetime of Gitanes. The leads, Lily Collins and Lucas Bravo, seem weary. There is barely a plot, just actors appearing in scenes that you could shuffle into a random order without affecting the narrative flow, like a bunch of TikTok posts.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“It’s quite remarkable that Emily in Paris, given all the criticism it endures, still seems bulletproof. It is perfectly aware that it’s shlock, designed by Netflix to cash in on jammed-in product placement – the new season features luxury clothing brand AMI Paris, jeweller Boucheron and a trip to Roland-Garros – with a paid holiday for the cast and crew to boot. Much like Emily’s basic and obvious PR campaigns that, as always, are passed off as genius, it’s just rehashes old material and hopes we won’t notice – or care.”
Tilly Pearce, The i