The Game; Virgin Island; Inside Our ADHD Minds

“The working title for The Game was Catch You Later, the sign-off used by the Stalker to taunt police. And after a night at the pub, Patrick bids Huw goodnight with those mocking words: ‘Catch you later.’ An innocent remark, or the first move in a game of cat-and-mouse? Robson [Greene], an actor who is never happier than when showing off his flirty twinkle, is perfectly cast as the smirking newcomer who just might be a psychopath. We want to believe he’s a murderer, but we also understand why Huw’s wife (Sunetra Sarker) and all their friends are immediately charmed by him. But it’s Jason Watkins who lifts this four-part thriller above the level of standard schlock.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“If something about the production feels a little off – besides the sight of suavely dressed man-about-town Patrick tootling off every day in his turquoise van – it could be because this depiction of British suburbia was actually shot in Spain’s Basque country (for financial reasons). Channel 5 dramas aren’t expensively done, but they’re certainly entertaining.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“The Game does not hit the tense heights of his best 5 project, last year’s Coma, but it’s a perfectly serviceable mystery that spotlights Watkins’s unparalleled ability to play the snowballing anxiety of men in over their heads.”
Rachael Sigee, The i

“Virgin Island is far from perfect. In the early stages, it appears to brush over very big questions; perhaps it will start to look deeper in later episodes. But the courage of the participants is admirable, and their willingness to open up on camera, partly, it seems, to show other people that they are not alone, is touching. As some of them make breakthroughs, their confidence grows, and you can see that the process is having a positive effect on them. Virgin Island might sound like an Alan Partridge pitch, but stick with it, and it is more complex than it first seems.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“Sometimes I watch programmes so you don’t have to. So, a content warning for Virgin Island (Channel 4): if you do want to tune in, please have a cushion handy to hide behind and your finger hovering over the mute button on your remote. Otherwise, you may die of second-hand embarrassment.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“In 2023 Chris Packham made two excellent films under the banner Inside Our Autistic Minds, which, with enormous empathy and no little humour, gave the viewer an insight into what it might be like to live with autism. We followed the participants as they described their daily struggles and created a short film to show their friends and families what it’s like inside their heads. It was quietly revelatory and extremely charming. Packham and his team have now returned to the well to take on an even bigger challenge – repeating the same trick with people who live with ADHD and dyslexia. The results are disappointing.”
Chris Bennion, Telegraph

““I don’t do man hugs, so imagine one,” Chris Packham told Henry, a likeable 23-year-old struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Packham is a strident and passionate advocate for animal rights, but ever since he went public with his autism diagnosis, he has demonstrated a softer side to his campaigning through films about neurodivergence. A keen observer of the natural world, he is also a brilliant listener to the human animal. He may not do hugs, but he’s got a great set of lugs.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“Inside Our ADHD Minds is a must-watch for anyone who suspects they – or someone they love – may have ADHD. But it’s even more important for those who are sceptical of the boom in diagnoses to take heed of the film’s message: ADHD is real, it is hard, and it needs our full attention.”
Emily Baker, The i