Slow Horses; The Great British Bake Off

“As always, Slow Horses is a pleasure. It’s big, bold and unapologetically daft. It wallows in the traditions of a regular spy drama like a pig in muck. There are plenty of big twists and loads of chase sequences, even if they are carried out in vehicles that are more practical for the school run than high-stakes secret service stuff. Yet there’s a layer of self-deprecation that keeps it lively and fresh. It is funny and crude, but tense and gripping, and as such, it is a roundly entertaining, solid spy thriller.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“Is Slow Horses the perfect TV drama? I think it might be, you know. It’s clever. It’s fun. It combines the action scenes of a spy thriller with the joy of seeing a marvellously greasy Gary Oldman contemplating washing his armpits with Fairy Liquid. It’s on Apple TV+, which most people don’t have, but honestly – consider taking out a subscription just for this.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“It’s all about the dialogue, isn’t it? They really are a stroppy lot at Slough House, and Slow Horses must be the snippiest show around. This is no bad thing. The constant sardonic exchanges give the spy series — still the top reason to get an Apple TV+ subscription — its cynical humour, which is surely the best thing about it, although it’s a close-run thing. Because there’s also Jackson Lamb.”
James Jackson, The Times

“There can be a slightly deflating feel about the final. The silence in the tent is always noticeable with only three bakers who have become so friendly that the bonhomie levels are as soft as a properly proved dough. Touching, yes, but every lemon drizzle needs a dose of citrus piquancy and on that score this final didn’t really deliver.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“‘Boring is too strong a word,’ said Paul Hollywood, ‘but it’s on its way.’ He was talking about a showstopper cake presented to him by Josh, a Leicestershire 27-year-old who hoped his three-tiered celebration of the English seasons, complete with a biscuit greenhouse, would win him series 14 of The Great British Bake Off. But the veteran judge could have been referring to this year’s final.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“A series that has proven remarkably controversy free – save for Josh getting too regularly passed over for Star Baker – climaxed with a final where it was hard to know who to root for. Signature éclairs, a lardy-cake technical – a nod to our current cost-of-living crisis– and triple-tiered showstoppers whipped past in a blur of bonhomie and sporting quips.”
Keith Watson, The Telegraph

“As in the past few years on Bake Off, the final was a bit of an anti-climax, compared to last week’s heart-in-mouth penultimate round. But the series has maintained a consistently high standard, boosted by the arrival of Alison Hammond, who radiates a genuine sense of cheerful enjoyment.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“This has been the best Bake Off series in a long while, thanks to engaging contestants, less complicated recipes and newbie Alison Hammond’s warm, sunny presence. She definitely brought a new energy to the tent.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i