IAN HYLAND

on last night’s telly

Hard To Please OAPs, ITV ★★★★

Enjoyable as the first episode of this new documentary series was, I really didn’t like its title.

ITV probably thought it was clever and snappy, but it was incredibly harsh on the eight celebrity pensioners, who were gamely testing a variety of gadgets and gizmos.

They weren’t hard to please at all. They just could not see the point of this supposedly amazing technology – and for the most part, it was hard to disagree with them. I thought EastEnders legend June Brown in particular seemed more of an Old Dear With The Right Idea.

She had no time for her virtual assistant, especially when she asked it for a scone recipe and it suggested a spicy Mexican dish instead.

Jack Whitehall’s dad Michael was even less tolerant. “It’s all b ****** s, I’m afraid,” he said. “All these things that are saving time. What are we saving time for?”

I think it’s meant to give us some precious extra minutes for leisure and family time, Michael. In other words, more time to surf Twitter while other family members indulge in equally solitary online pursuits.

The celebs weren’t all Grumpy Old Men/Women like Michael. Harry Redknapp was full of praise for Amazon’s personal helper Alexa. “Great little machine. It’s fantastic,” said Harry, describing it in much the same way he might describe a nippy winger he once had at Portsmouth. However, that wasn’t the most telling contribution from Harry on the night. Take a look at wthis screen grab. Did Line Of Duty just get even more intriguing, or what?