“Cosy enough to snuggle down with as the nights draw in, but not so formulaic that you might drift off on the sofa, The Pact proved eminently absorbing”

the pact series two

The Pact, BBC1

“Brimming with barely kept secrets and the off-kilter thrill of obsession, the second series of The Pact is off to a strong start. Nuanced performances from [Rakie] Ayola and [Jordan] Wilks conveyed complex inner conflicts without giving the game (whatever it turns out to be) away, and a tightly honed script gave voice to convincingly idiosyncratic family dynamics. Cosy enough to snuggle down with as the nights draw in, but not so formulaic that you might drift off on the sofa, The Pact proved eminently absorbing.”
Emily Watkins, The i

“I can believe a stalker (Jordan Wilks) is targeting her family, claiming to be a long-lost son. I can believe Christine’s other children would be obsessed with finding out the truth. But I can’t believe in a moneybags social worker. That stretches credulity too far.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“If you like your dramas slow, and I mean very slow, you’re in for a treat with The Pact. However, I suspect that it might have been too leisurely for many, who might not see it through to six episodes. This would be a pity because, I can tell you, it packs a cracking twist towards the end (all episodes are available on iPlayer) and deserves credit for its originality, if not its nimbleness at getting to the point.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“I’m all for seeing more Reeses on the box. We are an under-represented surname (Moggs, before anyone says anything, are not of our tribe). The problem with this Rees family is it’s perfectly impossible to care about any of their painted-on problems.”
Jasper Rees, Telegraph

Made in the 80s: The Decade that Shaped Our World, Channel 4

“It’s tempting to say that watching Made in the 80s: The Decade that Shaped Our World was like going back to the future. Strikes, soaring inflation, protesting activists, the threat of nuclear war. But what was noticeable was that at least then we had serious politicians. Whatever your view of Margaret Thatcher she was a leader, unlike the wannabe that has just resigned. There was also Mikhail Gorbachev. Compare him with the deluded, ranting Gollum in the Kremlin. A well-crafted nostalgia trip to mark Channel 4’s 40th, it was also a hard watch. No wonder our generation drank so much. I had forgotten how chilling those public information films about what to do in a nuclear attack were.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Perhaps, threatened with privatisation, the channel wishes to remind us that once upon a time it really did have its finger on the pulse. Apparently it still does if, as was absurdly implied here, Countdown really is an allusion to the Doomsday Clock. Consonant please, Vladimir…”
Jasper Rees, Telegraph

“The hour-long show was rescued by the reaction of Michael Barratt, a staple of current affairs TV as presenter of Nationwide, when he saw models wearing Hamnett’s clothes. ‘What kind of people would want to wear these?’ he demanded — and added aghast: ‘Ordinary people?’”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

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