Who Is America?; Nadiya’s Family Favourites; Who Do You Think You Are?

“Did it merit its billing as ‘the most dangerous show in TV history’? No. But it was gloriously funny to watch it fail. Even during the misfiring sketches, there were enough schoolboyish gags to keep viewers giggling along guiltily. Did it tell us who America is? Not really but it certainly reminded us who Sacha Baron Cohen is: one of the most merciless and subversive satirists at work today.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph

“As with his earlier work, the characters themselves are brilliantly done. They are all convincing, committed performances, meticulously prepared and backed up by formidable wit and intelligence that allow him to pivot and follow wherever his patsy seems poised most fruitfully to take him. But if it is being played for laughs, it is a venture that needs to stick to embarrassing people with rude pictures. If it is aiming for satire, it needs a clear, worthy target and an unerring aim.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“While Baron Cohen’s latest portrayals are characteristically surreal and his own identity magnificently disguised, they feel more sophisticated than their predecessors – less attention-hogging and catchphrase-light – putting the spotlight on and exposing the real people featured in the show. In a fractured world dominated by big egos, it’s an approach that pays off.”
Miranda Bryant, The i

“What struck me more than the food last night was what a natural TV presenter Nadiya has become. Hard to believe that three years ago she was an unknown housewife in Leeds who now looks completely at home in front of the camera.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“They’ve tried sending the Bake Off star all over the country on her British Food Adventure. They’ve made her a judge on the ludicrously named Big Family Cooking Showdown. They’ve explored her Bangladeshi roots on The Chronicles Of Nadiya. None of them quite captured the charm of the woman which first won our hearts. The solution, it seems, was to stop trying to force her into standard presenter roles, and let her do her own thing. These are the meals she should have been cooking on TV all along.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“It was a joy to see Nadiya’s Family Favourites back for a second series, reminding us that Bake Off champs can do more than cakes and bread.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“For years I’ve chuntered that Who Do You Think You Are? has become a formulaic and invariably dull ego trip for some teary thespian or other. Then the BBC goes and delivers two corkers in a row. Last week’s episode featuring Olivia Colman was charming. Last night’s featuring Lee Mack was better than that: it was funny.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Mack is an old-fashioned stand-up, with funny bones and lightning wit. His quips often went over the head of the tweedy historians he was meeting but jollied along proceedings for us viewers. This was a lower-key, less exotic affair than the series opener with Olivia Colman. There were no tears and Mack never strayed further than 400 miles from home. Yet, it was no less fascinating for it.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph