The Diplomat; Prince William: We Can End Homelessness; Helmand: Tour of Duty

“Keri Russell has been given her second great TV role by showrunner Debora Cahn, who has, if a glance down her CV is any guide, spent her career working towards this moment. Cahn has written for The West Wing, Homeland and Grey’s Anatomy, qualifying her to create a series that is several great shows all at once. Kate Wyler may never quite feel that she fits in at work, but The Diplomat should slot effortlessly into any list of the best dramas of the year.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“The Diplomat is that rare show that transports you into an unfamiliar world – one that mostly takes place within wood-paneled offices in 10 Downing Street – and immerses you within it completely. That is does it all without treating you like you’re stupid is a marvel.”
Emily Baker, The i

“Series two dials down the fun and concentrates on the terrorism plot. New additions this series include two tough women: Scotland’s Westminster-hating First Minister – who could this be based on? – and the US vice-president. The latter is played by Allison Janney, best known for her award-winning role as White House press secretary CJ Cregg in The West Wing, and great casting here as a woman who is within spitting distance of the top job and has no intention of letting Wyler take her place. Janney is this series’ saving grace, because until her arrival things are too gloomy.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Prince William seems to grasp the complexity of homelessness and be keen to dismantle people’s assumptions and judgments. Best of all he seems, from the glimpses we get of them, to be surrounding himself with good, experienced people and not be intimidated by them or their greater knowledge. So let’s let him just start.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“One thing that seemed clear in Prince William: We Can End Homelessness is that he is at least sincere. He has been quietly visiting homeless charities for years, inspired by his mother, and has her natural ease when talking to strangers. When you have the likes of Shelter, Crisis and John Bird, who founded The Big Issue, here on film saying William’s presence will be a huge help to the cause, you have to take note. Would you have watched it if he wasn’t in it?”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“What this documentary made frustratingly clear is that, aside from the money and the visibility Prince William can give, there is little he can do. Constitutionally, the royal family has to remain politically neutral. And so, this documentary is frustratingly neutral, too. We need to know about cutbacks to social services, how the NHS is struggling to provide frontline care, the burden on GPs. We need to know about investment in and the building of social housing. Of these issues, and the many more that have contributed to the crisis William has announced his intention to solve, there was nothing. It made for dismal television.”
Marianne Levy, The i

“This excellent film did its best to explain the brotherly bonds that form in the military. Produced by BBC Wales, it featured 10 soldiers and their families from Support Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, talking about the hell that they endured during what became known as the British Army’s bloodiest summer in over half a century. In vivid, terrible detail they described their time in Helmand.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Via a series of intense interviews with surviving members of the Welsh Guard, this film gave the civilian viewer a short, sharp immersion into their daily lives during that six-month tour. Not just seeing their comrades blown to pieces or slowly drowning in an upended tank, as described in horrific detail, but the stress of never relaxing, permanently having to be on your guard with the enemy everywhere and dressed just like the general population. The grim facts outlined throughout this film by various soldiers were unforgettable.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“There was a fascinating contradiction at the heart of these stories. These men had seen terrible things. Two of them lost legs when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. Yet many of the men said this had been the best time of their lives.”
Roland White, Daily Mail