Radio Times

Review by:

Alison Graham

By now it’s a tried and tested formula, and a successful one, too: Gareth Malone, full to the brim with enthusiasm, wants non-singers to join his choir. At first they are afraid, they are petrified. But with persistence and charm, Malone starts to win them over, encouraging even the most bashful to give it a go, thus unearthing some hidden treasures, shy people who blossom under his tutelage.

In this new series, he visits four busy workplaces to recruit choirs for a competition. At the Lewisham NHS Health Trust, his hunt for a soloist to sing REM’s anthem Everybody Hurts is hindered by the volunteers’ inability to invest any emotion in the song, dismissed by one surgeon (with considerable justification) as “mawkish”. But this is Gareth Malone, and he can do anything. When he spots a potential star, who weeps through the verses, he spreads the Malone magic.

About this programme

1/6. Gareth Malone sets out to improve four British workplaces by persuading their employees to start choirs - before pitting them against each other in a singing competition. His mission begins at Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust in south London, where he hopes to tap into the musical potential of the doctors, nurses and porters at one of the city's busiest hospitals. However, the piece he asks them to perform provides an unexpected challenge.

Cast and crew

Cast

Presenter

Gareth Malone

Crew

Director

Pete Cooksley

Producer

Pete Cooksley

Series Editor

Colm Martin

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