Divorce and family breakdown are horrible, especially if you seek resolution in the courts, which are both gladiatorial and extortionate. In Mr v Mrs: Call the Mediator (21 June) we were shown the alternative: meeting outside the court system and trying to find common ground.

Unfortunately, that common ground is usually the house and the children; and like common ground everywhere it is up for grabs. In this hour-long documentary, the first of three, we met three couples who let us eavesdrop on what is usually – and rightly – a private process. One couple fought over the house. The other two ranted at each other over access to the children. In all cases, though, the real casus belli was an old friend: sex.

Some attempt seems to have been made to package this personal agony as a quirky workplace documentary, with terrible music that constantly promised us that something funny was about to happen, when it wasn’t. However, Zoë Wanamaker’s voice-over was straight-faced, and the shooting and editing were elegant and respectful.