Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 19 hrs ago
Stacey Dooley’s Australia mixes bushfire stories with island activities
Stacey Dooley’s new Channel 4 series visits Kangaroo Island in South Australia, mixing travel activities with stories about the island’s past.
The island has about 5,000 residents and was badly hit by bushfires seven years ago, with communities rebuilding since.
Dooley meets people who rescued orphaned wildlife and a sheep farmer who lost his home and flock.
The programme also shows her swimming with seals, trying firefighting and taking part in other activities.
Reviews say the show struggles to balance tragedy and light entertainment, and that Dooley sometimes lacks words when discussing the fires.
The episode is the first of a six-part series, and the sources give no further details about what comes next.
Two reviewers disagree over Stacey Dooley’s presenting in the Channel 4 travel series Stacey Dooley’s Australia: Off the Beaten Track.
The Guardian says Dooley struggles to draw out people’s experiences and describe lighter moments.
The Daily Mail says she seeks trauma and tragedy even during a holiday-style trip.
The episode visits Kangaroo Island, where communities have been rebuilding after bushfires seven years earlier.
The first episode also features wildlife rescue, firefighting, swimming and other island activities.
- Who
- Stacey Dooley, the presenter, and the reviewers at the Guardian and Daily Mail.
- What
- The reviewers assess the first episode of Stacey Dooley’s Australia: Off the Beaten Track.
- When
- The reviews were published on 8 November 2026.
- Where
- The episode visits Kangaroo Island. The articles differ on the ferry’s departure point: the Guardian says Cape Jervis, while the Daily Mail says Melbourne.
- Why
- The Guardian says Dooley struggles with a lighter presenting role; the Daily Mail criticises her focus on trauma during a holiday-style trip.
The Guardian
Daily Mail
Dooley’s approach
The Guardian
Dooley struggles to draw out people’s experiences and express what makes lighter moments special.
Daily Mail
Dooley overdoes the empathy and keeps seeking trauma and tragedy during the trip.
The episode’s balance
The Guardian
The lighter sections expose a lack of vivid commentary, according to the review.
Daily Mail
Dooley cannot decide between heartbreak and high jinks, according to the review.
Bushfires destroyed half of Kangaroo Island, and its communities began rebuilding.
The Guardian and Daily Mail published reviews of the series.
- Series
- Stacey Dooley’s Australia: Off the Beaten Track
- Channel
- Channel 4
- Episode
- First of six, according to the Daily Mail
- Island population
- 5,000 people
- Bushfire damage
- Half of Kangaroo Island was destroyed, according to the Guardian
- Travel time
- 45-minute ferry ride to the island, according to both articles
2 sources
What people are saying
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