The Grand Tour; Emily In Paris; Grand Designs; Billionaire Island

“What makes One for the Road so enjoyable is that Clarkson and co are resolutely unbothered. They take themselves off to Zimbabwe for a nice drive. They pick cars they like, because, well, they like them. They travel with some of the best camera crews in the business, as they have always done, and so the backdrop to their witterings is exquisite. No dials are moved, no envelopes maxed. But slowly, quietly and with surprisingly little shouting, a TV era is over.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“One for the Road might not have high drama or daredevil action, but it has plenty of the charismatic camaraderie that has turned this unlikely trio into televisual royalty.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“Mme Macron’s appearance is among a handful of surprises in the last five episodes of this fourth season. The writers have also decided, thankfully, to introduce some tension in the form of a new character, Geneviève, Sylvie’s sort-of-stepdaughter. But Emily continues to be the worst-dressed woman on Earth. This series may have her in the most terrible outfits yet, including a ski-resort ensemble of white, purple and black yeti jacket, green tights and plaid shorts. Thank heavens for Sylvie, who manages to look understatedly chic and sexy even while stuffing a Christmas turkey.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“There is one moment of genuine tenderness when, in an argument, Gabriel pours out his feelings in French, sick of speaking in Emily’s language. Otherwise, Emily in Paris remains a feast of simultaneously expensive and horrible outfits and brand porn, designed to be both relatable and escapist for the considerable proportion of its viewership who have spent their day thinking of ways to make other people richer, and wondering what shiny new purchase might best appease their existential dread and numbed dopamine receptors.”
Emily Bootle, The i

“How interesting to see the changing face of Kevin McCloud, looking so young and abundantly-haired back in the early Noughties (didn’t we all?) and modelling a range of jacket/anoraks and cable-knit polonecks. His consistent gripe throughout has been that most people tend to build houses far bigger than they could possibly need. ‘Who needs a 5-metre couch?’ he asked wearily of one householder. Exactly. Nice, nostalgic programme.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“What starts as a deadpan comedy of delusion slowly becomes, as the Marlax v Meyer scrap hots up, a cool psychodrama of resentment and betrayal, with the families torn apart by infighting and ship-jumping.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian