Witness Number 3; Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life; Long Lost Family Special: The Unknown Soldiers

“Witness Number 3 captures and distils the atmosphere of constant fear pervading the country…Writer Thomas Eccleshare’s script evokes that sensation of fear piling up in layers, the feeling that however bad things get, there’s always the potential for them to become worse.” 
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“If any citizen had the slightest fears about coming forward to give evidence about a crime, they’ll surely run a mile after seeing this horrifying drama. Make a statement? No chance, mate. Didn’t see a thing. The worst part of the story of Jodie, a hairdresser trying to do her civic duty and played compellingly by Nina Toussaint-White, is that it probably wasn’t even all that exaggerated.” 
Carol Midgley, The Times 

“If the new four-part thriller Witness Number 3 is anything to go by, the channel’s new nativist programming policy could be on to something. Okay, so let’s skip the fact that Witness Number 3, although set in south-east London, was actually filmed in Ireland – presumably for tax-break purposes. Because any budgetary economies were reflected in the storytelling, which was tight, spare, and filmed in washed-out tones that gave it a suitably grainy and unsettling naturalism…With Jodie and her son isolated and filmed through windows or on gang members’ phones, the drama developed a sense of dread and claustrophobia more associated with horror films.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i 

“The director spends most of his time trying to cover up the fact that the show is pretending to be set in London but was actually filmed in Ireland. That takes away a degree of realism; Jodie’s estate is weirdly deserted (as is the police station), her boyfriend’s house may as well be in Denmark, and shots are tightly framed to disguise where they’re being filmed. The colour palette is subdued, and lots of scenes take place in the dark. Some of the intimidating behaviour also looks a bit daft on screen. When a bunch of kids assemble outside Jodie’s flat, they look like the young cast of a West End musical about to break into a dance routine. So the drama is hamstrung by its budget, but new writer Thomas Eccleshare does a fine job of building up the tension.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph 

“The unspeakable unfairness of the disease is brought sharply home to us again by the closing captions. But the series overall promises to lift us out of the slough of despond. Without becoming mawkish or losing sight of the human suffering involved, it focuses on what can be done, what is being done and what shall in the future be done.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian 

“There are also no words to describe the sucker punch, actually more a massive kick in the teeth, that came at the end.”
Carol Midgley, The Times 

”If you shed tears while watching, it was likely during the ceremony in which the nine were buried with military honours. The coffin bearers were from the modern incarnation of the men’s regiment. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a century apart, they are my brothers and it is an absolute privilege to do this,” said one. It was a moving and dignified end.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Presenters Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall didn’t need to add any suspense. The facts were heart-breaking enough.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail