“It is all almost comically low-key”
“I admire Alison Steadman hugely. Larry Lamb seems like a nice chap. But does watching them have a facial while wearing white bathrobes make good television? Alas, no. Alison & Larry: Billericay to Barry was moving wallpaper, a sugary crumb tossed to Gavin & Stacey fans because Pam and Mick were on a celebrity ‘road trip’, the deathly drug to which TV bosses are addicted.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“It is all almost comically low-key. Lamb is as laid-back as Mick, but some of these situations are crying out for Steadman to channel Pam. The programme-makers should have found them more interesting things to do. But the pair are so companionable that it’s a nice way to spend an hour.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph
“Narrated by Joanna Page, who played Stacey, it’s a road trip (yes, another of those), featuring actors Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman who played Gavin’s parents Mick and Pam Shipman. But frankly you would have to be a diehard fan to stick with what, even by the sedative standard of the genre, was a bit of a snooze-fest. Less a road trip than a crawl along television’s slow lane.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i
“There is, unfortunately, no metric by which this show succeeds. If you are here for the Gavin and Stacey behind-the-scenes trivia, prepare to be disappointed. In fact, unless your idea of a good time is seeing two secondary cast members from a sitcom sitting next to each other in a Volvo, disappointment is the only likely destination.”
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian
“The duo, who played Gav’s parents, are old pals, and not above recalling a few of their funniest lines if it offers an excuse for meandering from restaurant to hotel on their way from Essex to South Wales. They went boating on the Thames too, and stopped off to see birds of prey at a falconry centre. Alison was thrilled to let a barn owl perch on her wrist.”
Christopher Stephens, Daily Mail
Court Martial: Soldiers Behind Bars, Channel 5
“What makes a good documentary? Access to the subject. Compelling characters. A window into a closed-off world. Court Martial: Soldiers Behind Bars has all of this in spades, and shows how far Channel 5 has raised its game in recent years.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph
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