Filthy Homes From Hell (ITV1)

55 Degrees North (BBC1)

AT one point during Filthy Homes From Hell, viewers with delicate stomachs were warned to look away. I don't know why this particular moment was chosen to issue the warning as the whole programme made me feel as queasy as watching anything presented by Anthea Turner.

The problem wasn't just video footage of piles of rotting food, decomposing animals and dirty toilets. The whole idea of the programme was suspect, mixing stories about disturbed people who needed help with cleanliness with Clean Queen Delia banishing hidden filth in the way that Kim and Aggie do in How Clean Is Your House?.

One minute we were inside a house whose owners hoarded animals - 138 of them, of which 83 were dead. An RSPCA inspector described finding tortoises and how "when I picked up one of them, my finger slipped inside its rotting body and the contents of the animal's internal organs poured out over my hand".

The next minute we were visiting the students inhabiting Britain's dirtiest digs, where Delia set about making the place spotless, complete with jokey, speeded-up film.

This sat uneasily with the story of Dennis Bostock, alias The Blackpool Womble, who feels compelled to collect other people's rubbish. As environmental health officers visited his home for the 44th time in nearly seven years, they were met by a "warm blast of putrid refuse" on opening the front door. Every room was knee-deep in rubbish and food gathered from the town's rubbish bins.

Dennis's hobby is collecting other people's rubbish. His motto is waste not, want not. He takes food remains from bins and cooks it. He drinks the dregs of cups of tea. He clearly needs a visit from a doctor, not a film crew.

Neighbour Mavis agreed that "he is a bit different to anyone else" but added, "Who's to say what's normal?". Certainly not Gwen Ferris, who was always interested in animals and won Crufts with one of her dogs. The trouble was that she couldn't bear to part with them when they died.

One room of her house was in pristine condition, full of antiques and fine furniture. But, after her death, they found the skeletons and decomposing carcasses of 40 animals in the other rooms. Amazingly, they also discovered the remains of a pony that had been dead more than ten years.

Considering the sights on offer, this programme should have come complete with a sick bag.

Gwen called herself an animal lover but I bet she didn't indulge in dogging, which involves watching while two people have sex in a car. This was going on in 55 Degrees North, the Newcastle-set detective series that's shaping up into one of the year's most welcome new additions to the drama schedule.

Much of the credit must go to the performance of leading man Don Gilet, whose new cop on Tyneside is a very likeable chap - in contrast to his police colleagues, who keep any redeeming features well hidden. It deserves a second series.