Location, Location, Location
Child Of Our Time: Turning 20
Rating: 
There was a time when Location, Location, Location (Channel 4) seemed to feature an endless stream of young professionals with names like Monty and India who wanted to live in the country.
Oh, and she would need a studio in which to indulge her creative outlets at their rural home, while he would require a London ‘crash pad’.
The first episode of the new series of the house-hunting show stepped outside the London bubble to focus on Bristol, where house prices have risen by 75 per cent in the past decade.
Phil Spencer was looking after software developer Greg and wife Joanna, who had £800,000 to spend on a family home.
Phil Spencer is pictured with Location, Location, Location co-presenter Kirstie Allsopp
Joanna had a PhD in molecular electronics which, according to Phil, made her difficult. He believed clever people were nightmare house buyers as they overthought things rather than going with their emotions.
Kirstie Allsopp had no such problems with her couple. Liz was desperate to get ‘the feeling’ when she walked into a property. Meanwhile, her partner Ben just wanted a bedroom big enough for a king-size bed, somewhere safe to leave his flashy car and space for a barbecue.
Kirstie had no truck with couples who got hung up on outside space they’d hardly ever use. ‘We’re not in Spain,’ she scolded.
Phil, sporting a deep tan, put Joanna under pressure to stop being one of those clever people that likes to think things through. ‘Over-analysis leads to paralysis,’ he said. A catchphrase that we must hope never ever catches on.
Liz got ‘the feeling’ when Kirstie showed her and Ben around a Georgian flat, and they ended up paying the £495,000 asking price.
As the programme closed, Liz and Ben were moving into their new home, while Greg and Joanna were still dithering and viewing houses.
When it comes to ticking TV show boxes, Location, Location, Location is cosy, entertaining and familiar; though I did miss the chance to roll my eyes at Monty and India.
Eve on Child Of Our Time: Turning 20 (BBC2)
All the young adults featured in Child Of Our Time: Turning 20 (BBC2) had yet to get on the property ladder. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what any of them were up to.
When the documentary — following the development of 25 children born at the beginning of the 21st century — was launched in 2000, it was hailed as a ‘bold new project’.
Two decades in and the programme-makers seem to have lost interest. Three years on from the last update, only a handful of the original 25 subjects were featured and this episode relied heavily on old footage.
The ground-breaking Seven Up! series showed us people who sign up to a long-term TV project often get cold feet and drop out. Had that happened with Child Of Our Time? We weren’t told.
Jamie on Child Of Our Time: Turning 20 (BBC2)
Many of the youngsters featured spoke of their battles with mental health issues but, in many cases, their stories were rushed and felt incomplete.
Charlie was taken into care when she was five and had been in 14 children’s homes. A new mum herself, she spoke movingly of how she had blocked out her own troubled childhood and said her dearest wish for Elijah, her baby son, was that he would stay away from gangs, drink and drugs and instead be ‘one of those geeky university kids’.
Twelve of the couples involved at the start of the series ended up separating and 14 of the 25 children went to university.
The 20-year-olds who did appear were all bright, articulate and seemed keen to leave their mark on the world. What a shame, then, that this ambitious project ends not with a bang but a whimper.