Linford; Tabloids on Trial

“The archive offered the chance to relive Christie’s 100m races, to marvel at his power and admire his pre-race cool. I don’t know whether the film will change your mind about the doping allegations, but it is at its most absorbing when it takes us back to the track, and Christie’s mindset in the moments before a race, sizing up the opposition.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“You did leave this film with the strong sense that history and fate have not been kind to Christie. If the documentary’s aim was to suggest that we have underappreciated and undervalued our greatest 100m sprinter, it succeeded.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“One of the most heartbreaking moments in the programme is when he and two of his eight children, Briannah and Kian, watch in tears old footage of when he went on a chatshow and complained about the racist fetishisation of his genitals. The show’s hosts, ex-footballers Jimmy Greaves and Ian St John, clearly didn’t comprehend his hurt.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“The list of contributors was impressive, and all were justified in their anger. The behaviour of these newspapers was appalling and outrageous. At times, though, the programme blurred the lines between media interest and illegal activity.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph