THE SUNDAY TIMES

“I can’t remember a better portrayal of suburban charm hiding suburban evil…it’s hard to create suspense when you already know the ending. But in this case…it was still a nail-biter”. Matt Rudd.

 

THE OBSERVER

“A terrific dramatisation…I have watched ahead and it only gets better…truly chilling...there being nothing quite so terrifying as a man convinced of his own righteousness”. Euan Ferguson.

 

THE I

“Told with passion and power...the sort of tale we’ve seen many times before, yet what made ‘The Secret’ so interesting was the way Stuart Urban’s smart script dealt with it…Urban sensitively depicted a close-knit community where religion was central”. Sarah Hughes.

 

RICHARD MADELEY

“Judy and I watched The Secret utterly transfixed… superbly and sensitively made. ITV were entitled to make (it)…programmes as well made as this demonstrate the profound evil into which men and women can sink”.

 

RADIO TIMES

“A scarily excellent dramatisation”. Jack Eagle.

 

 @hugh_laurie  

The Secret is astounding. Urban, Murphy, Nesbitt, O'Reilly are just absurdly good.

 

PREVIEW ROUNDUP  - THE SECRET

 

THE GUARDIAN  “Gripping…unswitchoffable”.

 

THE OBSERVER “Brilliant…a tour de force”.

 

THE TIMES “A superior 4-parter...Superb”. TV choice.

 

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH “Terrifically gripping” TV choice.

 

DAILY EXPRESS **** “A true story that will set your teeth on edge”.

 

DAILY TELEGRAPH “Meaty, terrific 4-parter. Stuart Urban’s script ekes out every ounce of passion, hypocrisy and self-delusion in the situation”.

 

THE SUN “Cancel all your plans for the 4 Friday nights…this addictive drama is about to hook you in and won’t let go”.

 

DAILY MAIL **** “Gripping…paints a chillingly convincing portrait of a killer.”

 

DAILY MIRROR “We’ve known the outcome all along…but this doesn’t make it any less gripping…impossible to tear your eyes away”.

 

SUNDAY EXPRESS “Gripping drama”. Pick of the Week.

 

THE I “Superior 4-parter. Stuart Urban’s script deftly captures how the couple used their religious beliefs to justify their actions. Sound familiar?” Critic’s Choice.

 

TOTAL TV Guide “Don’t Miss”.

 

MAIL ON SUNDAY ****

 

SATURDAY LIVE BBC RADIO 4 (Richard Coles) “A kind of Shakespearean drama of passion and repentance, really powerful and deep”.

 

RADIO TIMES “Does a smooth job of making grueling events believable….that’s one of the best things in Stuart Urban’s script – a sense of how important religion, being part of “a flock” is….a calm morality tale”. Pick of the Day.

 

THE STANDARD “Gripping”.

 

TV TIMES **** “A gripping 4-parter”.

 

FINANCIAL TIMES **** “Corrosive, obsessive”.

 

RATINGS & POPULARITY

 

BROADCAST MAGAZINE “The Secret stormed into the schedules…Across its four parts, Hat Trick’s tense thriller clinched a series average of 4m (20%) to eclipse the (ITV) slot average of 3.2m (15%).” It took the No 1 slot in 3 out of its 4 nights. It charted in the top 3 of Consolidated Ratings with up to 39% viewing as catch-up/record.

 

The programme was in the top 4 UK Twitter trends in its last week.

 

Extensive press coverage from the qualities to the red tops included, for example, 12 articles in The Daily Mirror alone.