First Dates Hotel; Days That Shook the BBC; Fake or Fortune?; Get Smart With Money

“There was nothing sensational about any of this. First Dates Hotel instead brought together likeable people who’d been dinged about slightly by life and invited us to pull up a stool and eavesdrop but not to judge them. It doesn’t reinvent the relationship wheel – and plonking them in Italy hasn’t changed the formula. But this dating show has something many of its rivals lack: its heart is in the right place.”
Ed Power, The i

“Always intent on novelty, this series sometimes sacrifices any chance of real romance for the sake of showcasing eccentric characters or tragic back-stories. This time, the balance was right. Twins Bethany and Shannon, aged 23, were mourning the loss of their mum but genuinely hoped to fall in love. Their dates, 24-year-old roofer Phil and gas engineer Aaron, 30, both turned up in tight grey trousers with turn-ups. The girls were duly smitten.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Days That Shook the BBC with David Dimbleby continues to be a curiously self-reflexive audit: self-flagellating, but with hints of an underlying pride in the BBC’s purpose. Episode two went in harder on itself, particularly over the monumental failures over Jimmy Savile. Overall it felt like headmaster Dimbleby’s stern lessons for Auntie, with the episode titled Trust Matters.”
James Jackson, The Times

“Far from facing up to world-shaking days, David Dimbleby seemed to be doing his utmost to minimise them.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“It says something about the rock-solid concept of Fake or Fortune? that into its tenth series it is still prompting news stories. Clearly it doesn’t matter that every episode is essentially the same thing — Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould poring over brushstrokes, provenance records etc — when there’s that climactic drumroll reveal each week.”
James Jackson, The Times

“Four hapless punters are taken under the wing of a money guru, but as well as being oddly formatted – what you would expect to be an episodic series is presented as a feature-length one-off – the film is mainly concerned with comforting the already comfortable. For anyone even slightly versed in money-saving advice, this is basic stuff – all the experts here are babies staring up at Martin Lewis’s ankles – but a point Get Smart With Money makes well is that sensible budgeting, debt management and investment are only easy once you know about them, and most Americans have never been taught.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian