"Is there no format that can't be made to work by hiring Mel Giedroyc to host it? With or without Sue Perkins alongside her, the presence of Giedroyc makes any kind of chat/quiz/contest caper watchable. You can hand her virtually nothing and she'll turn it into something welcoming and cheekily funny. To demonstrate this beyond dispute, E4 has come up with No Strings Attached, a profoundly silly piece of flim-flam that is objectively awful, and with any other presenter would be unbearable."
"The result of a commissioning process that can only be explained by severe staff/budget cuts, a complex blackmail situation or a rogue shipment of hallucinogenic cocaine, No Strings Attached proceeds as follows. A celebrity sits in an armchair opposite La Droyc. Each of them clutches a sheaf of paper, upon which is printed a piece of erotic fiction written specially for the show by amateur writers who have previously churned out weird fanfic on the internet where the celeb is the protagonist."
Mel Giedroyc makes a weak television concept watchable through warmth, cheeky humour and responsive hosting. E4's No Strings Attached pairs celebrities with amateur erotic fan fiction written about them, which the celebrities read aloud while Giedroyc reacts and guides. The production intercuts these readings with puppets that enact the stories in explicit furry detail. The premise produces awkward and outrageous moments that rely entirely on Giedroyc's comic skill. The show appears rushed and badly conceived, with commissioning decisions implying budget constraints or poor judgment. Celebrity participants include Sam Thompson and the programme leans on reality-TV notoriety.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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