Sex: A Bonkers History; Juice

“Anyone hoping for a high-minded excavation of sex through the decades would have been disappointed; this was basically an hour-long TikTok video. I’m glad Holden is stepping out from behind the Britain’s Got Talent desk and flaunting her presenting skills elsewhere. She’s glam, game for a laugh and can carry a conversation with charm and wit: all the qualities a good TV personality should possess. But the fascinating subject and wink-wink nudge-nudge tone didn’t work.”
Emily Baker, The i

“There was little cohesive narrative as we hopped between Sparta, ancient India, Egypt and Rome in an end-of-the-pier whistle-stop show that seemed predicated on getting the co-presenter Amanda Holden into a short, sexy Spartan toga-type sheet as soon as possible.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Given Britain’s history of sensible telly about sex (summary: there is none. It’s all embarrassed giggling and pixelated penises) A Bonkers History was some way above excruciating. Amid the usual mixed grill of gratuitous nudey re-enactments and Lucy Worsley style dress-up, Holden and Jones did at least attempt to follow a thesis.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“There were naughty jokes about cucumbers and carrots, and a version of Blind Date featuring randy Roman emperors. It was like watching a Carry On film produced by the Horrible Histories team.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“I have never been so grateful for a programme maker providing only one episode for review. I would not have made it through a second. I would have cringed myself inside out.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Juice is funny — not always, but mostly — and Mawaan Rizwan with his silly walks and fluid body has a comedic physicality that puts you in mind of Michael Crawford as Frank Spencer, perhaps with a touch of Mr Bean and added surrealism. Russell Tovey plays the straight man in this sweet, gay relationship, and Juice deserves merit for its refreshing air of innocence and joyfulness.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“It can take a moment to get used to Juice’s eye-popping visual style – the opening scene, in which Jamma’s boss’s office becomes a jungle, replete with carnivorous vines, feels like a relic of older, more ramshackle surrealist shows such as The Mighty Boosh – but it quickly settles into its rhythms, mounting some witty, ridiculous set pieces.”
Shaad D’Souza, The Guardian

“Juice careers through genres and set-pieces with have-a-go glee, never quite reaching laugh-out-loud funny but remaining novel and peculiar throughout. There is a sense of short skits without any real connection being bundled together in the guise of a sitcom.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph