A Very British Brothel, Channel 4 - TV Review: These insights into people who buy and sell sex are particularly relevant

Neither the regular punters nor the working girls saw any reason to hide their activities

A Very British Brothel, Channel 4

Some take patriotic pride in our food, others in our sex trade.

Or so the title of documentary A Very British Brothel would seem to suggest. Channel 4's cameras have gained impressive behind-doors access to City Sauna, a mother and daughter-run establishment on Sheffield's "golden mile of sex".

Neither the regular punters nor the working girls saw any reason to hide their activities, which is not to say it isn't sometimes a mucky business. Especially in the VIP hot tub, after a food fetishist has been let loose with M&S smoked haddock chowder and a tub of coleslaw.

With decriminalisation back on the agenda, thanks to Amnesty International's recent policy rethink, these insights into the lives of people who buy and sell sex are particularly relevant. It's only a shame they must be sandwiched between the repeated close-ups of wrinkly cleavage and scuffed stilettos, which are apparently obligatory in any even vaguely sex-related Channel 4 documentary.