Posh Pawn

From ‘Benefits Britain 1949’ to ‘Repo Man’, C4’s documentary response to the recession has been by no means flawless. ‘Posh Pawn’ tries to cover itself by avoiding the sharp end of pawnbroking and focusing on the lucky owners of such big-ticket items as helicopters and ruby necklaces as they fall on hard-ish times.

The pawnbrokers of Surrey’s Prestige Pawnbrokers seem pleasant enough, albeit with a weird scrotal obsession (a Lamborghini is ‘the nuts’, a jewel is ‘the dog’s bollocks’), while their customers have the sort of stories to inspire mild sympathy without breaking your heart. But unless you’re wowed by ostentatious wealth, there’s precious little insight or tension here and the stakes, compared to a docusoap like ‘Educating Yorkshire’, feel desperately low.