David Baddiel: Cat Man, a three‑episode Channel 4 series, set out to explore Britain’s fascination with felines — from Downing Street mascots to internet icons and the oddities of kitten yoga. The premise had real potential, but the show never quite found a consistent tone or structure. Each episode wandered across loosely connected themes, leaving the series feeling more like a scrapbook of cat‑related curiosities than a focused documentary.
Baddiel’s presenting style — dry, ironic, slightly detached — often clashed with the warmth and curiosity the subject matter seemed to call for. Even when he brought in celebrity cat owners like Jonathan Ross and Ricky Gervais, their contributions felt more like brief cameos than meaningful explorations of why people love cats.
What made this scattershot approach more frustrating was the quality of the material the programme did stumble upon. Several segments touched on genuinely fascinating ideas but never stayed with them long enough to say anything substantial. The most striking example was the discussion of the therapeutic effect of a cat’s purr — a subject with real scientific, emotional and cultural depth — which the series mentioned almost in passing before darting off to something lighter. Moments like that hinted at a richer, more coherent documentary that remained just out of reach.
Across its three instalments, Cat Man suggested the outline of a stronger series it never quite became. With a clearer thematic focus — or a presenter more naturally aligned with the tone — Channel 4 could have delivered something genuinely insightful about the nation’s relationship with cats. Instead, it remained a light, occasionally charming, but ultimately superficial wander through the world of feline fandom.
Reviewed by Pat Harrington. Image by Kollectiv Futur
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