First off all, I have a confession to make about Young@Heart (Channel 4, 9pm). It very nearly made me cry. If it wasn’t for my chattering to myself over particularly emotional bits, I definitely would have cried. However, being a man, I saw it as a sign of weakness and refused to succumb. I think I’ve told you before that I’m an idiot which is directly linked to my previous statement. Young@Heart was, without doubt, the greatest documentary I’ve ever seen. I know I may be prone to exaggerating on occasion, but this was a sublime piece of film-making that both inspired and touched. Every single second of it was phenomenal.

The film followed a group of old people who sang in a choir. Not any old choir though. A choir that tackled punk songs and rock anthems. Far from being some cheesy attempt to make some old people look funny, it was a staggering stroke of brilliance by whoever it was who came up with the idea. With most pensioners sitting around, whining and waiting to pass on, these geriatrics proved that, with a little effort, and a lot of good humour, you can still be a vital, interesting person.

Watching the struggles of each person involved; be it difficulty breathing, standing up or remembering cues and words; the viewer was instantly drawn into them as characters. Full of great wit and sparkling eyes, they blasted through a hilarious ‘I Feel Good’, made famous by James Brown, to really give out a good vibration. Giving it their all, and more importantly, making the song their own, the pensioners really gave of an impressive zest for life. To see them enjoying themselves in such a manner was so joyous that your writer found himself on the brink of tears with unadulterated happiness.

Of course, other than the happiness, there were moments that were incredibly touching. A key member of the choir fell ill during rehearsals, and a matter of days later, he was dead. From seeing him triumphantly belt through a Talking Heads tune, to seeing him defiant during a blood transfusion, to seeing the choir sing a beautiful, almost gospel version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Forever Young’  as tribute to him in the space of 10 minutes really hit hard. The aforementioned Dylan number was sung to a bunch of tough-assed prisoners (San Quentin style) who initially looked at the oldies with suspicion. By the end of the first chorus of Forever Young, most were in floods of tears. This is tough guys, all hardened criminals, in tears. I didn’t stand a chance.

The climax of the programme was their homecoming gig, and with two members having passed away during the build up, it was touching to see their tributes to them. In particular, their version of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ was, and is, one of the most moving things I’ve ever witnessed. Even though I despise Coldplay, the old gent thinking about his lost buddy filled up on his baritone delivery of "Lights will guide you home". It was heart wrenching and beautiful. I hope that there is a DVD and album release for this wonderful wonderful group of people. Inspired television.[Mof Gimmers]