In mostly positive reviews, script and performances were praised, with criticism directed toward clichéd elements of the story. Reviewing the first episode, Amol Rajan of The Independent found the storytelling "glorious", and that "it engaged very directly with highly topical issues." He stated that Broadbent confirmed "his position alongside Ian McKellen, John Hurt and Michael Gambon as one of the greatest English actors of his generation", and praised the "outstanding performances, from a bewitching John Simm and the reliably wonderful Olivia Colman." The Daily Telegraph referred to the series as "a powerful family drama trapped inside a clichéd tabloid thriller", and "so close to being brilliant. Instead, it was more of the same." But the review praised the "magnificent performances by Broadbent as a man in the grip of Alzheimer's, and Olivia Colman as the daughter left alone to cope with it, seeing her life passing before her, and Simm's Tom driving back into their lives cursing the emptiness of his London media career ". The Guardian review found "only a few missteps in Danny Brocklehurst's otherwise impeccable script", and part of the series "too pat", with "by-numbers triumphalism", but praised "the ingenious conceit of a mystery story in which the quest for the truth is foiled by an Alzheimer's sufferer catalysed a well-plotted drama, executed without exploitativeness and, in Simm's case, played more tenderly than I'd have thought him capable." Radio Times' Alison Graham wrote, "A tremendous piece of drama; subtle, intelligent, powerful and adult. Writer Danny Brocklehurst and creatorPaul Abbott have achieved something wonderful by blending a touching human story with a riveting thriller. This is as good as TV drama can be.. On every level Exile delivers." The ingeniously plotted Exile is over - steel yourself for a Hollywood remake, The Guardian,4-May-2011, page 25; "The ingenious conceit of a mystery story in which the quest for the truth is foiled by an Alzheimer's sufferer catalysed a well-plotted drama, executed without exploitativeness and, in Simm's case, played more tenderly that I'd have thought him capable". Caitlin Moran, The Times, 7 May, On TV. "Danny Brocklehurst's script shamed most of his peers - keeping the dialogue real, yet without pouring out the can marked Genuine Real Northern Dialogue. Minute by minute this was exhilaratingly good television. It's hard to know at whom to throw the greatest plaudits. There wasn't a single thing wrong with this programme."
