“More involving than its gory and weird gangster years.” Read on for the full verdict on last night’s TV.

EastEnders

EastEnders, BBC1
“Albert Square has gone through many guises, and the current family-focused melodrama is more involving than its gory and weird gangster years.”
Tim Teeman, The Times

Coronation Street, ITV1
“For a while back there, it looked like David Platt was getting nice. The devil child was happy with his sharp, civilising girlfriend… The days of him plotting to kill his family from a rooftop… seemed far away… What next, Rita Fairclough revealed as a Mafiosi kingpin?”
Tim Teeman, The Times

The Funny Side of… TV Talent, BBC2
“It took three yawn-inducing sittings to get through Clive Anderson’s talking-heads clip show.”
Simon Usborne, The Independent

Real Crime, ITV1
“I like Real Crime not just because it tells me about real events, but because to a mind schooled in fantastical plot twists the outcomes are a shock.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

How the Other Half Live, Channel 4
“Why am I feeling slightly queasy about the whole thing? Is it because of the use of dramatic juxtaposition between rich and poor as entertainment? Or is it because the O’Dwyers aren’t the only British family living in poverty – they’re just the ones picked for this week’s bill-worry relief.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

10 Items or Less, FX
“The influence of The Office is evident in the barbed, quietly brilliant and wholly improvised 10 Items.”
Tim Teeman, The Times

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