Blackpool Medics, BBC1

9:43am Saturday 26th January 2008

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MEDICAL programmes have been popular with the viewing public since the dark ages of TV.

And I love them.

I was hooked from the minute I saw Charlie and Duffy on Casualty rubbing together those things that look like two travel irons, demanding everyone "stand back" before they shocked a patient's lifeless body back to consciousness.

And how great is it to try to guess what horrific injury the characters are going to sustain during the opening scenes of Holby City?

But things have gone too far with Blackpool Medics, a new three-part show on BBC1 following real-life healthcare professionals going about their daily routines at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Last night's episode - the second of three - saw a three-year-old boy admitted to casualty after stuffing polystyrene bean-bag balls in his ears.

It's hardly George Clooney saving lives in ER is it?

Sometimes reality TV works well (namely when we get to see people make fools of themselves for our entertainment) but sometimes it just takes the excitement out of the subject for me.

I don't really get the point of it - we all know doctors have a hard enough job, we don't need proof, thanks.

And it's a bit too close to home, too.

Imagine you saw someone you knew? I know I'd find it hard to meet someone's eyes after I'd seen them laid bare on an operating table being poked and prodded.