Press clippings Page 4
Allelujah review
Starry NHS hospital drama is less than scalpel-sharp.
Danny Leigh, The Financial Times, 16th March 2023Jennifer Saunders shares the secret to four decades of marriage
Jennifer Saunders, 64, talks about her latest film role in what she describes as a love letter to the NHS, as well as the reasons she's been blessed with such long-lasting relationships, why you shouldn't throw things away tomorrow if you can do it today and how she's ended up with no nose lining...
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Metro, 16th March 2023Jennifer Saunders on how Allelujah tackles "political football" of NHS
"This script is drawing attention to and asking the big question - what are we going to do?"
Morgan Cormack, Radio Times, 16th March 2023Allelujah, Alan Bennett's 2018 play about the ailing fortunes of a geriatric hospital, gets a tonally bizarre big screen adaptation courtesy of Call The Midwife creator Heidi Thomas and director Richard Eyre. A slew of beloved British stage and screen stars - among them Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi - play the hospital's ailing patients, while Jennifer Saunders (as a ward nurse), Russell Tovey (as a government management consultant) and Bally Gill (as an immigrant doctor) attend to the plot, which revolves around the cash-strapped hospital's viability. Tovey gets a couple of good scenes, but a last-minute swerve into The Good Nurse territory doesn't come off at all.
Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 15th March 2023Jennifer Saunders on coping with modern life and why family comes first
For years, Jennifer Saunders' silliness, zaniness and gleeful vulgarity has made her one of our most brilliant comedians. But now she finds herself doing 'active acting'. She talks about postboxes, puzzling and why she couldn't be happier.
Eva Wiseman, The Observer, 12th March 2023Allelujah review
Overall, Allelujah is an intriguing production. It has a lot of things it wants to say, but its commitment to a shock-value plot twist blunts its ability to say those things and causes it to largely squander its runtime, making for an experience that feels inconsistent and compromised, despite its best efforts
Umar Ali, The Upcoming, 12th March 2023Allelujah review
A-listers are tended to by formidable nurse Jennifer Saunders in Richard Eyre's adaptation of the 2018 play about a struggling geriatric hospital.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 10th March 2023Baldrick to read Blackadder Bedtime Story for Comic Relief
The BBC has revealed its plans for Red Nose Day, with Tony Robinson reprising his Blackadder character Baldrick for a Bedtime Story. Other Comic Relief sketches include one themed around Love Island and another around Eurovision.
British Comedy Guide, 9th March 2023French & Saunders to star in Traitors sketch for Comic Relief
Claudia Winkleman, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Mary Berry have filmed a Comic Relief sketch themed around The Traitors.
British Comedy Guide, 4th March 2023Comedy.co.uk Awards results 2022
Don't Hug Me I'm Scared has been named Comedy Of The Year 2022 in the Comedy.co.uk Awards. There were also wins for Ghosts, Ellie & Natasia, Would I Lie To You?, Taskmaster, This Is Going To Hurt, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane Austen?, 'Whatever Next?' With Miles Jupp, The Unbelievable Truth and You're Dead To Me.
British Comedy Guide, 8th February 2023