[Feefs]

Did anyone see this show last night on BBC2? It was on at the same time as Footballer's Wives, which I've decided is rubbish.

This wasn't rubbish, but was fascinating. The had a white middle-class man, who lived in a very white, middle-class town made-up to look black, and a black man from East London made up to look white. The basic idea was to see if and how they were treated differently.

What interested me more, was when made-up as another race, they did things they wouldn't have done before, such as attend events that were attended predominantly the other race. The black to white man went to the dog races, which he'd lived near all his life, but never been to, because black men didn't. He also went to the boxing and had assumed it was only rich white men watching poor black men fighting. These were still predominantly white events, but he realised the people there were not as he'd imagined. He even joined a National Front march and realised that they were more pathetic than something to be scared of.

When the white man became black, he felt he had lots more people staring at him, but he couldn't tell if it was actual racism, or just that he was something of a novelty for the people where he lived.

The black to white man said he could tell people were less threatened by him as a white man. I'd hold my breathe before jumping to any significant race conclusions, because as a white man he looked like someone who'd been bullied all his life, and probably reads lots of second-hand books and The Guardian, and doesn't own a tv. That was not the hairstyle of an intimidating man!

From that, it was hard to tell how people really did treat them differently, or if there were racist motives, but the show demonstrated how with the best will in the world, we make assumptions about other cultures. The 2 people involved seemed to learn most about their own attitude to race, which was really enlightening.

It's on again tonight and I hope it's as interesting. With a bit of luck they might manage to turn the people into the social equivalent of what they were already, so it's easier for them to compare reactions.

If you're looking for something to watch this evening, this gets my seal of approval. 9pm, BBC2