Until I Kill You; Asia

“Until I Kill You is an extraordinary portrait of survivors’ suffering. But there is no scurrying after sensationalism. The worst episodes are evoked, not lingered on. As well as providing a tribute to the depth of Delia Balmer’s courage – and by extension that of all those like her – it is also a testimony to the banality of evil. It insists on the essential pitifulness – not pitiableness – of these men and the needs they serve. It is a magnificent treatment of a damnable, unending subject.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Both Shaun Evans and Anna Maxwell Martin are cleverly cast, Evans’s character gradually darkening into coercive control and hideous violence, Delia realising that she can’t get rid of him. It is an enraging story that leaves you with a strong sense that if you’re a crime victim, it’s better not to be an eccentric.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The facts and the long timeline aren’t easily or neatly boxed up into drama. It makes for a bleak and rambling saga that skips randomly forwards in months or years without, seemingly, the prospect of resolution. But at its most impactful, the script by Nick Stevens has enlightening things to say about the psychological legacy of male violence.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“Despite being slightly uneven in its telling, this is a disturbing and uneasy watch that engages with and challenges perceptions of victimhood – something that much true crime is unwilling to do.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“This is a harrowing drama. It’s also a compelling one, because of the constant jeopardy that Delia finds herself in.”
Sean O’Grady, The Independent

“As ever, this is a masterclass in television, in which every element is cooked to perfection: it is filmed beautifully, edited with wit, soundtracked with flair and narrated with warmth and authority.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“There were plenty of extraordinary things witnessed here: sperm whales hanging vertically in the water like privates on parade; black-banded sea krait snakes and bluefin trevally combining to hunt prey on coral reefs. But somehow the most profound story in this episode told of firefly squid whose existence is an annual rondo of procreation and death.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“The photography, as usual with BBC natural history films, was outstanding. It’s easy to forget that, as the wonders of the deep get on with their daily lives — eating each other, reproducing, or just looking colourfully oddball — there is somebody in a wetsuit and a camera watching on. Long may they continue.”
Roland White, Daily Mail

“You need watch only a few minutes of Asia to fall under a by-now-familiar spell, dumbstruck afresh with awe. As with MasterChef and Strictly, we come to Attenborough knowing precisely what to expect, and so how can we leave disappointed? The natural world really is endlessly amazing.”
Nick Duerden, The i