Old Wife, New Wife: One man, his child, his ex and his lover move in together - what could possibly go right?

It would be easy to sneer at the stars of Old Wife, New Wife, and they might even deserve it.

But before we get there, let’s ponder the broader question of what Cyren and his two wives - Laura (ex) and Meaghan (current) - thought they were doing when they signed up for a programme in which the man and his two women moved into the same house for a week.

They what? Again, let’s take this at face value. This is not fiction (except that it is, sort of). This is a documentary (except that it isn’t, really.) This is reality (though not in the true sense of the word). It is a construction, a fabrication, in which real people act in their own lives, and are edited into something approximating a story.

According to the voiceover, the unlucky trio did this so that Cyren could re-establish a relationship with his three-year-old son, Leo.

That’s an admirable aim, though it would take an observer with the insight of a fire bucket to suggest that this might be the best way to ensure the emotional safekeeping of a child. Son loses father and is raised by mother, then father reappears with new girlfriend (and TV crew) and stays for a week. What could possibly go right?

At this point, you might want to pull back from the fray. Whose idea was this? What did the audition process entail? What did Leo make of it all? Better not ask him. He’s a child.

Shall we deal with the wives bit first? There doesn’t seem to have been a lot of marriage going on with Cyren. Laura is an ex-partner, and Meaghan is a new one. Cyren, we are told, walked out on Laura a year ago, and has barely seen Leo for six months. There is a bit of argument about why that happened, but Cyren has been with Meaghan for six months now. “Meaghan’s 19,” Cyren explains. “She’s young. She’s a beautiful girl.” Laura is 33.

Cyren’s age doesn’t seem to be important. His role is to look a bit baffled as the two women face up to each other with eyelashes drawn. “I’m gonna walk off for a little bit,” he announces when things get fraught, as they must. In terms of fireworks, this contrived threesome are a bit of a damp sparkler. Constructed reality needs a firm structure and committed performers, and the characters of Cyren and Meaghan are sketchy when they need to be cartoonish.

Laura has something, and could probably do a turn in another reality show, if asked. Mike Leigh might want to make use of her death-ray stare. Kat from EastEnders could learn from her skilful deployment of cleavage and her nascent self-knowledge. “I’m trying my hardest,” Laura says. “But every time I do I feel like someone’s laughing at me.” Meanwhile, in Location, Location, Location, that other unmarried fantasy couple Kirstie (Allsopp) and Phil (Spencer) continue their long-running series in which middle-class people agree to compromise their privacy in return for a world in which their entire personalities are viewed through the prism of property.

Kirstie and Phil enjoy a scripted bicker. They are ill-matched cops in a world without crime.