Welcome to Chippendales; Life After Love Island; The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker; New Lives In The Wild

“The sleaze, glamour and general air of excess that hung about the 80s is nicely captured, and all eight episodes can be easily binged. But you do long for some depth, some nuance, and perhaps an actor less fundamentally gentle than Kumail Nanjiani, who might have captured more convincingly the darkness lurking in Banerjee’s soul.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The script is entertaining, but at times it’s having too much fun and feels superficial. There is a darkness at the heart of the real-life story – it involves more than one murder – which doesn’t translate here.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“The main thing this has going for it is its preposterousness. Like all the best true crime adaptations, each new revelation – from the deaths connected to the club to the arson attacks – is more morally reprehensible than the next. You have to keep watching simply to know where Banerjee ends up. Chippendales is a moreish junk-food binge and as enjoyable as it is at the time, it will leave you feeling a little bit grubby.”
Emily Baker, The i

“This lightweight film was more interested in fast-fashion deals and provincial nightclub appearances than awkward subjects such as safeguarding and trolling. It didn’t help that the presenter was self-confessed reality TV obsessive Will Njobvu, who hosts a podcast on which Love Islanders regularly appear. He was clearly friendly with most of his interviewees, greeting them with hugs and high-fives. Hardly conducive to objective journalism.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph

“The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker slips into a category of Netflix films such as Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee and Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99. They each present an aberrant situation, then show how things unravelled into total madness. They are compelling because, essentially, they’re simply great stories.”
James Jackson, The Times

“Ben makes a career of coaxing grumpy curmudgeons to love him, employing the self-deprecating wit of Louis Theroux, with the cheeky twinkle of Ant and Dec. By the end of the hour, Bette was pouring out her heart to him, revealing traumas in her past that had driven her to become a recluse. All that charm had a purpose. No other interviewer on telly could have drawn those secrets from her.”
Christopher Stevens Daily Mail