Joan; State of Rage; Paddy and Chris

“It’s great fun, holding the genuine grief and fears behind Joan’s courage nicely in tension with the glorious adrenaline rushes and addictive glamour of the heists and Spanish smuggling jaunts. The serviceable script doesn’t ask too much of the strong cast, but they produce as solid a piece of entertainment as you could ask for, offering a little bit of escapism and a soupcon of suspense. It’s enough to while away an autumnal evening or six.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“It seemed obvious that some hardships were being glossed over to present a zippy, mesmerising tale set to a banging 1980s soundtrack. I’m sure life for the real Joan Hannington was much harder than it’s made out here. But Sophie Turner steals every scene with a magnetic performance.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Last year’s BBC series The Gold occupied similarly murky moral territory, but was lifted by good storytelling and dynamic directing. Joan just plods along with nothing to lift it. Sex scenes are also thrown in at regular intervals, yet, as well, they lack sizzle. Turner does her best, and looks striking in the fashions. But even the period stylings feel half-baked.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Switching between these japes and scenes of dark social realism is disconcerting, though the drama does a great job evoking 1980s London. Outrageous fashions, naff music (The Style Council feature early on), and retro cars conjure visions of fluffy dice and ZX Spectrums. It’s a fantasy version of the decade – but one which Joan explores with gusto. It’s when it tries to be bleak and realistic that the wheels come off.”
Ed Power, The i

“Joan is obviously a fascinating figure, with the kind of life that makes a TV commissioner’s eyes light up. It’s a shame, then, that the nuances of her story sometimes feel lost here, with a portrait that falls between ‘victim’ and ‘girl boss’ without the gritty grey areas in between. It could have been 10 carat, but the result is something more cubic zirconia.”
Jessie Thompson, The Independent

“It might seem that State of Rage is a documentary that has been overtaken by events. But by taking us into two households, one in the Palestinian city of Jenin and the other in the Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad – a community built on land taken from the Palestinians, as part of a process of expansion of Israeli territory that is illegal under international law – Marcel Mettelsiefen’s film offers an urgent, clarifying picture of the psychology of the occupier, and of the occupied.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“State of Rage is one of the most profoundly depressing documentaries I have watched in a long time. Mettelsiefen is even-handed in the way that he reflects the views on each side. The contrast in their living arrangements, though, is striking. Renana gazes out from the hillside at open country and pronounces it paradise, while Jana picks through the rubble of the camp.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Despite the driving, this show is closer in tone to Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour than it is to Top Gear. It’s the BBC tapping into the idea of men talking about their emotions. And, to be fair, these two do it well.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“This was a great advertisement for life in Sweden, whose people not only seem very welcoming, but are laid-back and like a laugh, too. Why don’t we see any of this in shows like Wallander, whose Sweden is full of psychopathic serial killers and gloomy detectives?”
Roland White, Daily Mail