My Name Is Leon; Our Falklands War; Becoming Elizabeth

“Happily, this one-off drama for BBC2 has sidestepped all the usual quicksand traps of sentimentality and nostalgia, to tell a touching story that wise souls of all ages can appreciate. There are no special effects in this realist drama, but still, it has a magic to it.”
Ellen E jones, The Guardian

“This is a film steadfastly planted in its young protagonist’s viewpoint and it beautifully renders a childhood punctured too early by life’s cruelties. For older viewers, the script is occasionally heavy handed in its message and the overly sentimental ending adds to the sense that this might be more suited to family viewing. But it is high-quality family viewing. Touching, compassionate and sweet, it is a more than worthy addition to the thankfully growing canon of television exploring the black British experience.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“My Name is Leon is just incredibly moving. Yet it also seems curiously, frustratingly unfinished. Leon spends so much of this time telling himself, his toys, his foster mum, his friends and strangers in the street that he’s going to find his long-gone brother. But we don’t get to see Leon grow up and watch this happen, so we end up with a sense of loss as well. I’d love a sequel. And that’s all down to some fine, sensitive screenwriting by Shola Amoo, neat direction by Lynette Linton, another brilliant performance by the ubiquitous Monica Dolan and, above all, the obviously gifted newcomer Cole Martin, who lends great subtlety to his role.”
Sean O’Grady, The Independent

“What a find Cole Martin is. The drama is heavily dependent on him plucking at your heartstrings, and he does just that with a beautifully guileless performance. And yet what promised to be a pummelling film ended up pulling its punches. The issue of race is central to the story and yet is portrayed in such a mild way, as if the programme-makers are reluctant to scare the horses.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“There have been several documentaries to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands conflict and some have been excellent. But wow, Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story was exceptional. It was breathtaking, humbling, honest and surprising, and I say this as someone who has watched umpteen hours of Falklands stuff lately.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Our Falklands War: A Frontline Storydid an outstanding job of coaxing ten veterans to recount their memories in explicit detail. There was no romance or derring-do about these stories. Descriptions of storming trenches at Goose Green, and the carnage aboard the bombed-out troop ship Sir Galahad, were visceral and brutal.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Becoming Elizabeth, created by Anya Reiss, is a historical drama that lives for those moments of motives unclear. Everyone is plotting at all times, often while joining us in trying to suss out someone else’s ambitions. Yes, it is yet another drama about the Tudors, but it is neither hysterically soapy nor primly reverential. Its heart is salty and black.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“As with the start of any series, even one where introductions are barely necessary, Becoming Elizabeth takes a while to work up a head of steam. The dialogue contains quite a bit of idiot-board signposting – our daughter Jane, my sister Mary, your brother the King etc. Yet by episode three it has taken on a propulsive intensity, largely thanks to Anya Reiss’s sweaty, seamy, salty script, full of vomit and piss and cruelty. She injects high stakes and theatrical confrontation into almost every scene.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph