Homes Under the Hammer

New episodes get 30% of the time slot's audience. It is cheap and cheerful TV that gets a big audience and costs the BBC very little.

So - it is successful... it is cheap. How can a licence viewer complain?

Whilst there are many many many DIY shows, there aren't that many that show shells of houses being renovated (Grand Designs isn't a fair comparison) and I think the presenters do a decent job to maintain the viewers interest considering the 100s of houses which have gone under the hammer.

Saying that, I do like to see episodes where people buy over-priced houses and are a little cocky about doing it up... and then make a pittance...

Hey - and if you don't like it, you can always turn over to Jeremy Kyle or Phil'n'Holly!

This is a great show and is handy for anyone looking to buy a property at an auction. The presenters are very warm and friendly. They're also pretty knowledgeable. It would be great if they did updates on some of the more interesting properties that were not yet finished when the crew went back after three months. For instance, the two who bought Bagatelle Cottage from the 1800s. I would have loved to have seen the end product.

I like the way one of the presenters, Martin, comes across as passionate about period features and saving them. You can tell he is not just business-minded but also really cares about properties. The lady, Lucy, is personable and good at interviewing people. And they both have good chemistry together.

I'm returning to England soon, so this show got me up-to-date on property prices (what a shocker). Homes that cost about forty thousand when we left are now worth three hundred and forty. Ah, well, that's life.

Daytime TV is well-known to contain some extremely bad programming, but this is an insult to the intelligence.

The basic format: two presenters look at some homes going up for auction, then find out who buys them and see what happens to the properties three months later. That is about it.

They try to make out that making money as a property developer is such a difficult trade and that the buyers will have to be extremely skilled to make a profit. The problem here (and it's not the makers' fault) is that due to the housing market in the UK the average house price increases £41 a day, it is very hard to make a loss unless they pay well over the odds for a very poor property in a bad area. Some don't even look at the house before buying so they don't know it has huge cracks through the wall or massive subsidence, and they will still end up in the black. Renting out for a year or two before selling will reap even more.

The presenters do their best to try and make the programme seem exciting, but they are up against it as there is a definite limit on how thrilling you can make a show like this. The script is painful, for example if the property in question is an old pet shop you get endless lines like "are they barking mad to take on this property?" or "let's see if they can get this shop on the cheep," etc. Who writes this stuff? It would help if the properties themselves were more interesting, but most of them are average mid-terrace dwellings that need a bit of a paint job. One thing it does well is inadvertently show how bad estate agents are. About 9 in 10 when asked "what is the property market like in this area" they will answer "(insert town name here) is definitely an up and coming area." What every area in the UK? Before any changes have been made they will often quote prices thousands of pounds higher than before with little justification. That is probably due to the fact that you can start up an estate agents without any formal qualifications.

Almost makes you wish for a housing market crash just to get rid of the plethora of property programmes that fill our screens and this one in particular as there is just so little variation between one show and the next. Potential property developers might find some of the advice useful, but it is the same every episode and most of it is just common sense.

I like HUTH and find the transformation of the various properties fascinating and really don't mind the over enthusiastic Lucy Alexander (in TV presenter mode) . She used to annoy the hell out of me but I guess I have got used to her. Martin seems to really know what he is talking about and is a pleasant enough presenter. My main gripe is the constant repetition of information - for instance when they go back to see what has happened with a property they run over all the owners details once again. HUTH is really a 30 minute programme stretched out to fill an hour. I imagine it has encouraged a lot of people to attempt the property market with varying results.

The new female presenter is nice to look at, but does she have to wave her arms like an out of control windmill, and does this programme need three presenters,l am sure one presenter could manage this programme,Overall, its an interesting programme,and do we have to have the second screening of the first interviews.