“It was a gripping recap of what an arrogant shit Shipman was… But the programme didn’t much address the big unanswered question: why?”

Harold Shipman Doctor Death

Harold Shipman: Doctor Death, ITV

“It was a gripping recap of what an arrogant shit Shipman was… But the programme didn’t much address the big unanswered question: why? What was his motive for killing more than 200 people? I would have liked to have heard more from psychologists on this, even if only theories.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“As crime documentaries go, this one never really got to grips with the fallout from his murders. Two decades on it seems inadequate to simply pick over these terrible crimes without giving any indication of what might have been behind them and what has been done to prevent such a thing occurring again.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“It’s right that this man, his crimes and his victims be remembered, but the acid-test of any ‘20 years on’ treatment is whether it tells us anything we didn’t know before. With access to the now-mostly retired detectives who’d worked on the case, this one-off showed how the GP’s deeds had poisoned a generation.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

Barry, Sky Atlantic

“A violent crime drama about contract killing, hits and mobsters one minute, and comedy about a lonely lost guy who accidentally ends up on a stage and likes it, the next. It works because of that fabulous juxtaposition, a perfect storm of horror and hilarity.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Many of the laughs come from the characters treating being a professional assassin as if it were any other inconvenient day job. Played with straight faces and little visible emotion, this kind of confident dialogue means Barry hits its mark.”
Ed Cumming, The Telegraph

Super Fast Falcon, BBC2

“Facts flashed past at 200mph, the speed of a peregrine in dive-bomb mode. But it was the personalities, not the F1 fact files, that made this documentary such a pleasure.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

Civilisations, BBC2

“It felt at times random and sweeping, but I have enjoyed and learnt from it. The finale was no exception. Civilisations was broader in scope and at times less deep than Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation, but it was for a different, more modern audience.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

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