Drawers Off: The Big Naked Painting Challenge, review: don't be put off, the lewdest part is the title

Mercifully for all of us, Drawers Off: The Big Naked Painting Challenge (Channel 4) is a teatime show. If it was in a late-night slot, imagine the full-frontal assault. But at 5.30pm, it’s positively genteel. This is a life-drawing competition, but the models preserve their modesty thanks to some strategically-placed props.

In the first series of the show, broadcast last year, each of the five contestants took a turn at posing. That idea has now been ditched in favour of professional models, which feels like a better idea. The host is the same: Jenny Eclair, who is just right for the show. She bustles about giving the contestants encouragement and resists the temptation to make innuendo-laden jokes at every opportunity. It’s smut-free. The only jokes about nudity are in the programme’s title.

A certain level of talent is required from the contestants, which weeds out any reality show wannabes. These five, who will compete over the course of a week, included a retired graphic designer in a jaunty neckerchief and a 20-year-old “self-taught barber”. As the voiceover noted: “They’re three words you never want to hear together.”

A man from Belfast said he did a lot of “drink and draw”. Have you heard of this? I stumbled across it the other day when I walked past a place advertising painting parties and enquired about booking a children’s birthday. It turns out they’re for adults only, and the point is to paint while getting merrily sloshed.

Anyway, Drawers Off is booze-free but everyone still seems to be having a lovely time. Some of the contestants explained how art has helped their mental health. Lizzie, a live illustrator for weddings, suffered from low moods but when drawing she is “transported into bliss”; retired accountant Sophie has been diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease but rediscovering art via a life class had lifted her spirits.

The contestants mark each other’s work, with a winner unveiled at the end of the week. “You mustn’t feel guilty – it’s a competition, there’s £1,000 up for grabs!” Eclair told one chap who worried about being too critical. It’s a good-natured little show.