Nick and Margaret: We All Pay Your Benefits, BBC One, review TV's favourite odd couple are back together at last. The Apprentice's Nick Hewer has never quite recovered from the loss of his trusty sidekick Margaret Mountford, replaced by Karren Brady two series ago. Last night, the stern twosome have been reunited for Nick and Margaret: We All Pay Your Benefits (BBC One). Last night saw the first of two episodes of the duo's latest project, in which taxpayers are paired up with benefits claimants in a bid to understand what it means to rely on the state - and how deserving those who do so really are. Four taxpayers visited claimants at home, scrutinising their lifestyle, possessions and weekly shop, and then gave a verdict on whether they're getting too much money - or too little. It was an important, and at times gripping, insight into the benefits system and the public perception of those who claim state aid. The contrast between the haves and the have nots (or "strivers" and "skivers") was startling; but even more striking was the range of claimants - from a family of five who rely on a food bank to get by to Liam, an out-of-work graduate with a MacBook Pro, an iPhone and a plasma TV. At the start, it was easy to side with the taxpayers - take Stevie, a mother-of-two who works as a carer; or Debbie, a 45-year-old single mum who runs her own cleaning company. But as the episode progressed, my sympathies shifted - not least to Chris and Tracey, who could only find work that would leave them worse off than their benefits, and unable to feed their kids. The documentary was filmed in Ipswich, a town chosen because its unemployment levels are average. There were some clever references to the history of the welfare state (with British Pathé footage thrown in), and a couple of sensible interviews with experts to hammer home the producers" point. Basically: our benefits system doesn't work. Those in need aren't getting enough; and those who aren't are getting even more. It was an intelligent attempt to go behind the headlines, and went some way towards cutting thought the misunderstanding that often surrounds the issue. One flaw, however, was that we weren't told the key statistic - that only around 10 per cent of the welfare budget goes towards the unemployed - until halfway through. Why it was fronted by Nick and Margaret (now so famous in their own right they don't need surnames) never quite became clear, either. But, with their bizarre outfits and lovable gusto, they brought curiosity and enthusiasm to what could otherwise have been pretty flat. "We're the explorers!" declared Nick in one scene. Margaret gave him a withering look.