AT least ITV has tried to give us something different for Saturday night viewing with its supernatural thriller afterlife' (you can tell that it's spooky and serious because it hasn't got a capital A!).

But honestly, what a load of tosh.

This week frumpy psychic Alison - played by Lesley Sharp - who lives in the most depressing 1950s house, was called into a prison to try to find out why lifers kept committing suicide.

It was all because of the evil presence of The Rat Man, a murderer hanged 50 years go who seemed to have adopted David Threlfall.

Pretty standard supernatural stuff so far.

As ever, Mr Threlfall proved what a great actor he is when it comes to playing the deranged, unhinged and generally menacing.

But for the rest of it, it was a cross between a not very good students' psychology essay and a daytime soap.

The first 10 minutes were OK as the tension built around the creepy character.

And I know you have to suspend disbelief to make these programmes work, but this was just asking too much.

It's no wonder poor old Alison wears a permanent hangdog expression and keeps seeing things.

It's living in that house with its appalling wallpaper that does it.

She doesn't need to keep in contact with the spirit world - a quick phone call to a decorator would soon sort all her problems out.