Heat; Teens in Care; Brave Britain with Fergal Keane

“So far, it’s a slow-burn build-up of secrets and lies, the situation so simmering with intent it will spark a full conflagration of betrayals. Annoyingly, it’s all too easy to watch, despite the drippy ballads and the fact that by the end of all this your own cerebral cortex might have started to bake too.”
James Jackson, The Times

“Channel 5 chiefs clearly reckon they have hit on a winning four-episode formula. The problem is that the characters get flattened under the weight of so much plot, until they are little more than paper figurines. That suits former EastEnders star Danny, a strictly two-speed actor — either angry and punching the furniture, or angry but bottling it up.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“On one hand, Heat is laughably unsubtle. On the other hand, it is surprisingly moreish – tightly plotted, with the added dimension of an encroaching bush fire. To those not pathologically averse to the screen’s quintessential cockney geezer, Heat is a diverting ride with a refreshingly different and (given how the climate crisis is ravaging Oz) topical setting.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i

“Swash has the same charm and openness as his wife, the singer and presenter Stacy Solomon, which even without his connection to the world of fostering makes him an excellent choice for interviewing young, vulnerable people about their fragile situations.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Hitting the road to explore a crisis in child protection, he brought an empathic touch to a profoundly moving profile of a system unfit for purpose. Swash’s bubbliness was a strong feature of the film, and despite the tough subject, the presenter never quite repressed his natural enthusiasm. He’s the sort who can find a silver lining anywhere, no matter how dark the horizon. But he also displayed great compassion upon meeting teens in care.”
Ed Power, The i

“You could say that Keane’s 20-year project, one alert to its own influence on some of its subjects, has upended expectations. The economic impact on ordinary lives can be desperate, but if you predicted a film of despair, instead we had stories of hope and resilience.”
James Jackson, The Times