How grim is it up north really?

Ross Kemp Extreme World Sky1, 9pm

GLASGOW, always worth considering for a fortnight's holiday.

Local delicacies, such as the fried Mars Bar, are, I believe, to die for.

Ross Kemp is more used to heading to troublespots in South America or Africa.

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This week, however, he heads north, encountering the worst of Scotland, among them a man in a string vest going by the name of Nesbitt.

Kemp reports on the twin demons of poverty and alcohol, said to feature, among others, a 46-year-old alcoholic who, after developing severe frostbite in his unheated flat in the city's north side, broke off five of his own toes and kept the severed digits in a jar.

However, Glasgow's rulers have hit back at such a portrayal, claiming that its both misrepresentative and potentially damaging.

Everybody, knows, they say, that most Glaswegians keep their severed toes in a tub in the fridge.

They fear tourism could be affected by such a programme, although to be fair I hadn't been thinking of taking the caravan.

Officials are unhappy at the city being placed in the same mould as towns in Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania, where issues including organised drug cartels, terrorism, people-trafficking and voodoo are endemic. Everybody knows, they say, that voodoo in Glasgow was wiped out in 2011.

Nevertheless, Kemp clearly thinks his programme offers a worthwhile and fair look at Glasgow life. Indeed, he's promised to go back there. Once he's had the stitches removed.