I’ve just been watching a trailer for the new BBC Three documentary series Undercover Princes. Basically, the programme follows three princes - one from South Africa, one from India and one from Sri Lanka - who are all bachelors and looking for love, coming to England to develop their dating skills and perhaps meet the partners of their dreams. The only stipulation is that they don’t let on they’re from royal stock.

Now, maybe it’s just me but the premise for BBC Three’s new documentary is slightly reminiscent of the 1988 John Landis movie Coming to America. Surely the BBC documentary making department (if such a thing exists) can’t be that stumped for fresh ideas that they have to plunder 80s fish out of water comedies starring Eddie Murphy?

Is this trend set to continue? If you’re reading this BBC Three commissioners, I’ve got an idea for a new documentary based on Trading Places. It’s called Going for Broke and involves examining the nature versus nurture argument by swapping around the lives of a wealthy commodities broker and a broke street vagrant to see how their lives turn out.

Merry new year!