WHAT on earth has happened to TV programmes? It is increasingly hard to find proper programmes - that is, ones that do not involve viewers phoning in with their opinions or choices.

Whatever happened to real drama series like The Onedin Line and Prime Suspect?

So they were costly to make - so what? Worldwide screenings of all these blockbusters soon recoup cash for the makers, and they can be recycled and create spin-offs to spawn even more revenue.

Instead, what we are actively accepting is a sub-standard type of TV that relies on cut-price reality programmes. These are about "ordinary people" doing up their homes/moving abroad/facing personal crises.

It's either that or so-called celebrities making a huge fuss about living together in one place/being abandoned in the jungle/trying out a new career.

And all of these seem to require us, the viewers, ringing in to choose the winners thus paying for the programme ourselves.

Personally, I don't watch TV for active participation. I watch because I want to be entertained by a box that presents images of something interesting.

Now, there are only a handful of proper programmes - like "Cutting It" and Fred Dibnah's wonderful and various series on Britain's heritage - that make it worthwhile turning the telly on.

OK, so I and thousands like me are quietly addicted to house makeover programmes and want Anne Maurice cannonised, but that doesn't mean we don't also need a real variety of other interesting programmes to view.

The hype involved in all these so called "programmes" like Hell's Kitchen is massive, and there is obviously large cost involved. So why not spend as much and some more on making real, meaty series that people will want to watch?

That way, we can enrich our lives rather than diluting them.