Critic Reviews

All are immensely sympathetic characters, played with a vivid sensitivity.

Henry and executive producer Russell T Davies were mindful of their responsibility to tell the story truthfully and unflinchingly, but they never forgot that to succeed, Three Little Birds needed to function at the level of pure drama, to smuggle in its share of soap-opera excitement. In that, it triumphed effortlessly.

The drama is still finding its feet and in episode two it does, expanding a story that will doubtless resonate with many children of post-Windrush arrivals, and giving the rest of us a three-dimensional glimpse into a period that documentary can't quite tell in the round.

Three Little Birds is intended to be a feelgood series, but it’s not schmaltzy and doesn’t shy away from the issues Jamaicans and other Black people faced in England in the 1950s.

At times it has the gentle, warm glow and period details of Call the Midwife. Then some unpleasantness occurs, but it lacks punch. It’s a likeable drama that could have offered more.

As much as the main characters verge on timestamped stereotypes, they’re performed with panache.

Three Little Birds exhibits deep reverence for its characters, but it doesn’t really seem to know them. And while respect for the Windrush generation is entirely appropriate – especially after the profound disrespect demonstrated by successive home secretaries – it doesn’t lend itself to a satisfying, engaging television drama.