Retirement, after 24 years in sewage.

It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. Council drain surgeon Roy Chadwick has been 24 years in sewage, quite literally at times. Now he's retiring after sorting out the un-des res that boasts a manhole

full of sewage and a basement full of sludge. The owner complains that "I feel I'm living in a toilet", so it's up to Roy and partner Mike to get their hands dirty to clear up the mess.

They've spent so much time round this particular house, where raw sewage seeps in, that it feels like a second home. Not that an estate agent would have an easy job selling such a damp and smelly residence.

A Life Of Grime isn't a series you should watch over a TV dinner. Most of what Roy sees - and paddles in - would put even Billy Bunter off his food. Some might also be upset by the behind-the-scenes look at a crematorium. Best to make the most of a rare opportunity because, of course, you're hardly in a position to inspect the place once you're making use of its facilities.

Gary and Barry are the double act in charge. Barry is the more sombre one who looks at the calendar and notes that July is usually a quiet month (dead quiet, you could say), although business does pick up towards October.

Now something is stirring in the graveyard that pest officers Matt and Graham - everything seems to come in pairs in this series - need to investigate. Moles are digging away, creating a network of tunnels that could cause the ground to cave in if they're not halted.

A squirt down the hole with a fumigant and these furry little creatures join the other dead bodies. Unlike other corpses, their exit isn't accompanied by music.

Barry tries to provide the tune requested by the deceased's family from his extensive library of tapes and CDs. My Way and You'll Never Walk Alone are very popular. So are Nat King Cole crooning Unforgettable, the theme from Titanic and Sarah Brightman warbling Time To Say Goodbye. You'd need to be dead to enjoy some of those.

This musical side of death clearly appealed to the programme-makers as they went around asking everyone what they wanted at their funeral. Bernard Cribbins singing Hole In The Ground was one of the jollier choices, and The Magic Roundabout theme one of the sillier ones.

One man didn't want any fuss, just "to be burnt and flushed out of the toilet of an aeroplane".

As for Roy, he was presented with his retirement cheque - only to be back on duty four days later after joining an agency that supplies labour to the council.

Where there's muck there's not only money... there's Roy.