Wham! Last Christmas Unwrapped; The Story of Panto With Gyles Brandreth; Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light

“What a big-hearted winter warmer Wham: Last Christmas Unwrapped turns out to be. This hour-long special promises an in-depth look at one of the most successful Christmas songs of all time, though curiously, it wasn’t until 39 years after its initial release, in 1984, that it finally became Britain’s festive number one. Much like the podcast Song Exploder, this documentary pulls the song and the video apart, discussing how they were written and made, before analysing their cultural impact. All fascinating, particularly to fans, but even fans might be surprised at how intimate and lovely the conversations about George Michael are here.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“The documentary was filled with little details. The resort of Saas-Fee was chosen after a lengthy search for somewhere suitably snowy in autumn; Michael kept his hood up in the snowball scene, Shirlie laughed, because someone had thrown one at his hair and ruined his blowdry. The production crew kept filling up the wine glasses at dinner, to the point where Ridgeley became so sozzled that he had to sit out further filming. This wallow in nostalgia also took us back to a time when having a Christmas number one mattered. It was looking like a cert, until Michael flew back home to record the new Band Aid single. “Our hopes and aspirations for a Christmas number one were disappearing in front of his eyes,” Ridgeley laughed. Last Christmas wound up at number two in 1984, yet Michael donated all royalties to the Band Aid fund.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“Not many panto stars are still performing after more than 50 years. So hats off to Basil Brush, who in 1970 was appearing in Aladdin at the London Palladium and this Christmas will be in Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal Windsor. The Story of Panto with Gyles Brandreth celebrated the contributions of Basil and everyone involved in this most British of traditions. Brandreth has been a devotee since childhood, and the programme was an affectionate and intelligent study of the genre. He explored its history, pondered the extent panto should move with the times (this year’s Sleeping Beauty at the Broadway Theatre in Catford no longer has the heroine being revived by a kiss from a handsome prince), and spoke to actors, writers and directors about the key ingredients of a production.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“Gyles Brandreth once held the world record for the longest on-screen kiss – three-and-a-half minutes, sustained with Cheryl Baker from Bucks Fizz on Good Morning Britain in 1983. And he is still the world champion after-dinner speaker for a non-stop monologue of 12-and-a-half hours, staged at a West End hotel the previous year. The audience had to be rotated in shifts. But he should really have a place in the Guinness Book Of Records as our unrivalled international prize-winning name-dropper. Fans of his regular slot on the sofa of ITV’s This Morning, bringing much-needed charm and twinkle to the show, know he is sweetly shameless with his allusions to famous friends.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Many historians will dispute [Hilary] Mantel’s reading of [Thomas] Cromwell, pointing to the brutal things the real man did in the service of the king, and will accuse her of whitewashing him, turning him into an all too modern-seeming, kindly idealist. It’s a worthwhile discussion but, as a televisual experience, this has been never less than absorbing and wholly gripping. The delicate haunting music, the fabulous furs and the wood-panelled grandeur all played their part but above all else were two towering performances. Damian Lewis perfectly captured Henry’s jovial menace throughout, while [Mark] Rylance has simply shown the heights of emotional intelligence that small-screen performances can aspire to. This drama, unlike the life of the man it chronicled, has been a complete triumph.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“It was a deliberately claustrophobic episode – once Cromwell was shut up in the Tower, we didn’t see the sky until he did, on his way to the chopping block – and we were afforded the usual lingering views of Rylance’s craggy, drawn, impassive face. I know his wrinkles better than my own. Damian Lewis, who has been a superlative Henry VIII, was allowed one beautiful moment, railing rheumatically against Cromwell’s ability to “keep him ever young”. The whole episode kept reminding me – more echoes – of the moment when Malcolm Tucker is defenestrated in The Thick of It. Cromwell and Tucker share a huge amount of DNA. When Cromwell’s end came, we saw not a drop of blood, nor the swing of an axe, but it was grisly nonetheless. Mantel, Kosminsky, Straughan and Rylance (and indeed everyone else involved) deserve every plaudit they have received. These 12 episodes are one of British television’s towering achievements.”
Chris Bennion, Telegraph