“You get quite bruised from this hour of jaw-dropping television”
The Real Mo Farah, BBC1
“Farah’s story is resonant for the tens of thousands of human trafficking victims now living in the UK. It’s also profoundly topical for those of us who feel the Home Office, in demonising illegal immigrants and treating them shabbily, disgraces the flag that Mo Farah carried so proudly in his victory laps in London a decade ago.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian
“Revelation after revelation, detail after detail and with one searing emotional confession leading to yet another, the viewer is left punchdrunk, bewildered at the real story of his life. You get quite bruised from this hour of jaw-dropping television.”
Sean O’Grady, The Independent
“The Real Mo Farah was gobsmacking, moving, enraging and gripping, told by Farah with a modest restraint and dearth of self-pity that frequently moved me to tears.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“It was a truly gobsmacking disclosure, particularly as Farah had recounted his official backstory – of coming to the UK with his mother, to join a father who was working here – in great detail in his autobiography and countless interviews. And it was painful to imagine how awful life must have been for this bewildered nine-year-old boy, taken thousands of miles from his home and the mother he loved…There was a problem with the documentary, though, which was that it left many questions unanswered. Perhaps the film-makers thought viewers would be so gripped by the main story, the awkward detail could be skipped over.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph
“The documentary’s premise was Camilla editing an issue of Country Life to mark her 75th birthday, but I’m sure her PR team also felt it wouldn’t hurt to show her charity work to the public before she becomes queen consort, which the film duly did.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“Camilla’s Country Life was a portrait of the Duchess in public and private. She came across as a jolly decent person with a mischievous sense of fun, and someone who is as normal as it’s possible to be given her status.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph
”Camilla ground her teeth and dismissed the tale as nonsense. This incident might explain why, while guest-editing an edition of Country Life magazine, she chose the abrasive Jeremy Clarkson for one of her ‘Countryside Champions’.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
“The specifics that make great autobiographical comedy are sorely lacking here; Sneakerhead is a jamboree of bland genericism. There is no sense of the precise travails of sports retail, no sense of place or regionality. Maybe this is deliberate – a portrait of an interchangeable middle-English high street – but it seems more like a hastily sketched backdrop designed to prop up a sitcom premise that manages to feel as though it was plucked randomly out of a hat, even though it actually wasn’t.”
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian
“From its animated titles to its hip-hop soundtrack, Sneakerhead is clearly aimed at young viewers but it’s broad enough for mainstream appeal. Rude, funny and full of heart, this three-parter merits a recommission for a full series. I’ll raise a giant promotional mug to that.”
Micheal Hogan, The Telegraph
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