The Big Steam Adventure; Interior Design Masters; Storyville

“It’s the TV equivalent of sucking on a Werther’s Original. While most channels are obsessed with targeting the ‘youth audience’, Channel 5 happily succeeds by going the other way. In fact, at times this show seemed aimed not so much at an older audience but the over-100s.”
James Jackson, The Times

“Former political journalist John Sergeant and actor Peter Davison are thoroughly enjoying each other’s company on The Big Steam Adventure, and their sense of fun carries us along with them. Calling this an ‘adventure’ is stretching the term. So far, they’ve journeyed from Greenwich to Peterborough by way of Stevenage — all perfectly pleasant places but not destinations to set the pulse racing.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The decision in 2021 to upgrade the show, replacing Fearne Cotton with Carr and, finally, promoting it to BBC One, has paid off. Carr has been an inspired choice – his saucy irreverence balancing former Elle Decoration editor Ogundehin’s serious, coolly appraising design nous. Carr has a warmth and playfulness that relaxes the contestants. But Ogundehin is key to the series’ success. Hugely supportive of the designers and seemingly genuinely saddened when they don’t come up to scratch, she offers good advice and never raises her voice.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i

“The jumbled timeline – jumping between appalling dispatches from the camps and giddy, drunken tomfoolery in South America – keeps any fierce emotional responses at bay. This feels very much like a film about somebody else’s memories. It’s difficult to know how to react: the film is keen to communicate the pair’s blissful happiness, but it doesn’t feel much like a celebration. Their secret sexuality and unspeakable experiences in the war loom ominously.”
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian