Mastermind; Tsunami Impact; This World: China’s Magic Weapon; Secret Spenders

“Clive Myrie had vowed not to be a rottweiler but a “friendly face” when taking over from John Humphrys as the new host of Mastermind, and he was as good as his word. He executed his debut with quiet, classy efficiency, having the air of a genial headmaster overseeing a spelling test, putting on Michael Caine reading glasses to interrogate his charges.”
Carol Midgley, The Times 

“The format is bombproof. Clive Myrie could have come out with his underpants on his head, singing the questions in the style of Mariah Carey, and the show would survive. I can’t think of another programme in which the music and the lighting are more crucial to its success than the personality of whoever is fronting it.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“This was the way television used to be in the age before Instagram influencers and reality TV drivel. With the likeable Myrie at the helm, it was a trip back in time worth taking.”
Ed Power, The i

“This first of three programmes mixed science with eyewitness accounts and heart-stopping amateur footage, following the progress of the wave minute by minute – an approach that could have been gimmicky but worked to good, unsensationalist effect.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Van Tulleken, a doctor with experience of taking part in humanitarian missions, though not this particular one, is his usual personable self, but his trademark blend of expertise and compassion is overwhelmed by the Channel 5 documentary style. It is best described as requiring that the documentary style get in the way of the documentary at every conceivable stage.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The film played out like a sickening true life thriller. From its unsettlingly banal name to what Corbin argued was a ruthless determination to infiltrate and subvert Western democracies, the United Front Work Department was portrayed as a clandestine conspiracy with tentacles everywhere.” 
Ed Power, The Telegraph

“A fascinating documentary and, simultaneously, a wake-up call.” 
Carol Midgley, The Times 

“There is little value in telling us how to beat extortionate credit card rates when you can wipe out the debt in one go with a handy nest-egg. If the show’s researchers couldn’t find any families with nothing at all in the bank, then frankly they can’t have been looking very hard.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“There was material here for a meaty human drama. But Secret Spenders kept it strictly about the finances and did not probe the couple’s hopes and fears as they negotiated a challenging phase of their lives. The emphasis was on such worthy-but-dull subjects as utilities costs and whether or not Alex should flog the old Nintendo 64 gathering dust in the garage.”
Ed Power, The i