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TV PREVIEWS
Wonderland: The British in Bed, Thursday 9.45pm, BBC Two 
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The idea of spending 45 minutes watching a series of couple counselling sessions may not seem like everyone's bowl of spinach, but bear with us….
The British in Bed, the first in the new series of documentary series Wonderland, interviews seven couples from their beds – don't worry, with one gold-medallioned exception, all have their tops on – initially asking for their thoughts on sex and moving on to love and fidelity. It's amazing how quickly everyone opens up: they may be clothed, but they really bare all.
Among the array of interviewees – ages range from 17 to 84 – there's Bulgarian Rumy, 48, who seems a bit humourless alongside Brit Peter, 67, an old romantic who readily admits to the fact that his age is affecting his bedroom performance and who comes across as sweet and naff with comments like, "You never cease to thrill me when I see your naked beauty." But it slowly emerges that there's a reason for Rumy's apparent lack of enthusiasm.
The stars of the show, though, are German-born 84-year-old Alf and 74-year-old Miriam, Dutch by birth – their extraordinary polyphonic repartee is unmissable. "I liked her from the beginning…" says Alf, as Miriam interrupts dryly: "But not any more." But the banter is built on a graver past. Alf jokingly tells us his wife has taken to buying twice as much food as they need, before, more soberly, revealing the reason: she's been dwelling on time spent in Belsen concentration camp with her family as a child.
Presented without comment – although admittedly the editor has a key role in how the stories play out – it's an intimate look into the British bedroom, both a voyeurs’ dream and something altogether more profound.
by Will Parkhouse, Wednesday 28 October 2009
Picture: BBC
