I think we can become somewhat anaesthetised to the realities of war as we hear tales of casualties to our troops on a near daily basis on the news. Ross Kemp in Afghanistan is a stark wake-up call and absolutely must see television.

Forget all that macho swaggering from Henno in Ultimate Force, this is Ross Kemp on the front line for real with at times literally nowhere to hide as the bullets and rocket propelled grenades whizz past.

There is no flowery commentary and not much of an attempt to put a spin on things. This is purely a point and shoot study of the grim situation our lads are having to face. Indeed the most gripping sequence featured the camera static looking at a blade of grass while the sound told the story of the terror of being pegged down and fired upon while in open ground.

Kemp's staccato matter of fact voiceover fits the action perfectly and dovetails nicely with his adrenalin-filled pieces to camera in times of danger, of which there are many.

Utterly compelling, this show deserves a far wider audience than it is likely to find on Sky One.

Mould in the pesto

Ever wonder why there weren't that many new instalments in the last run of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Could it possibly be because he was across the pond making an American version of the show?

Sadly, the format didn't translate unscathed and seems like a diluted version in comparison to the show we're used to. The biggest crime is that instead of having Gordon's commentary on proceedings we now have a narrator which makes the whole thing seem less personal somehow. When you add in all the straight to camera interviews with the main protagonists, the whole thing feels far less real than the fly on the wall, seat of the pants stuff we get in the British version.

Thankfully the show is still peppered with Gordon's trademark profanities and he still manages to to make the sparks fly. In the opener, it seemed that manager Mike was on the receiving end of Gordon's ire more than anyone and eventually and spectacularly he cracked.

Show two featured a profoundly dirty kitchen and a seemingly ineffectual restaurateur who looked to me as if he'd benefit more from a session on Shrink Rap than a pummelling from “Chef Ramsay”. Why do they all insist on calling him that?

While the show's format tweaks have diminished it, it still makes for a watchable hour of telly, but frankly I'd much have preferred it had it been re-cut with British market and Gordon were allowed to provide the voice-over. Perhaps we could get a chef's commentary on the red button.