“Collins has provided a blueprint for taking steps to get better”

Medium_72680_Gemma Collins_ Self Harm and Me Generics

Gemma Collins: Self-Harm and Me, Channel 4

“It is impossible to put into words how hard it is to talk about self-harm and mental illness to the ones who love you. In doing so on camera, in such a level-headed yet understanding way, Collins has provided a blueprint for taking steps to get better.”
Emily Baker, The i

“What the programme demonstrated was that Collins was brought up in a family which, although loving, involved a level of artifice: everyone required to be smiling and strong, sailing through life without a care. There will be many people out there who recognise this dynamic: parents who meant well but swept all problems under the carpet.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, Netflix

“This extremely watchable, unfiltered trilogy (of which two episodes were available for review) is as much about the power of turbo-charged self-belief as it is about genius. And it becomes obvious who was largely responsible for instilling that unstoppable confidence in Kanye “Ye” West: his mother, Donda. Maybe it’s because I’m a mother (and a fogey) that I found the scenes with him and her together more illuminating than much of the record company and music footage.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Coodie’s slow, deep voiceover lends a gravity to jeen-yuhs and constantly puts its documenter into the story – he is constantly part of the story, allowing him to add his point of view to the camera’s relatively unbiased eye. As you watch, it becomes hard not to question things, such as, who is paying for these decades of work?”
Kate Solomon, The i

Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, BBC1

This cosy little crime comedy, now in its fourth series, is more satisfying than much primetime fare. I’d rather watch an episode with this odd couple in their chaotic, half-timbered offices, where every case has a connection to the Bard, than tonight’s grim and joyless The Bay, or tomorrow’s identikit Vera. If you enjoy Death In Paradise, it’s a certainty that you’ll like Shakespeare & Hathaway. It has the same fondness for a pun and frequent guest stars.
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

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