The Red Nose African Convoy was wholehearted, but like a low-banter Top Gear challenge - review
The Red Nose African Convoy (BBC One) followed six celebrities braving one of the world’s most dangerous roads to lead a Comic Relief convoy delivering vital supplies to East Africa. Comedians David Baddiel, Hugh Dennis and Russell Kane, actresses Michaela Coel and Katy Brand, and presenter Reggie Yates drove 450 miles from Kenya to Uganda to show how our donations make a difference, by putting life-saving equipment right into the hands of those who need it most.
They saw babies being delivered in Africa’s largest urban slum, met sex workers at a treacherous truck-stop and watched an 18-month-old boy get his HIV diagnosis. Much of their journey was along the infamous Northern Corridor, dubbed “The Devil’s Highway”, which claimed 3,000 fatalities last year alone. There were cockle-warming moments and inspirational locals, including Ugandan schoolteacher Jean-Charles and orphaned 12-year-old Susan, who is bringing up her four siblings single-handed.
The celebrities were engaging company with the exception of hyperactive Kane, who recalled an irritating adolescent on a long car journey. He dropped phrases such as “empowered” and “emotionally literate” with a straight face, and had a tendency to make everything about him. Still, Yates showed why he’s become an acclaimed maker of “yoof” documentaries, while Coel and Brand were warmly empathetic. Baddiel and Dennis became a bickering double act, like two corny joke-cracking middle-aged dads on a mini-break.
This was invaluable work, no doubt. The intrepid half-dozen’s efforts were wholehearted, their motives pure. However, it didn’t make terribly good television. Too much time was spent sitting in cars, chatting on walkie-talkies, like a low-banter Top Gear challenge. Their trip, although arduous, was free of dramatic incident – bar the odd misread map or malfunctioning windscreen wiper.
This film should have been split into bite-sized chunks on tonight’s main telethon, rather than a prime-time hour on its own. Having said that, do give generously if you can.
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