Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story

"Karen Carpenter could sing the phonebook and you would listen," said one of the contributors at the beginning of BBC4's absorbing documentary on the easy-listening duo.

There was a lot of discussion about that voice, with no less than Dionne Warwick - herself no slouch in the pipes department - joining the praise.

It certainly was an extraordinary instrument - as warm and bright as the Californian sun under which she and brother Richard were raised.

And although the pair seemd wholesome - "goody four shoes" was a description Richard favoured - it wasn't like that at all behind the scenes.

Richard, jealous of his sister grabbing all the attention and the relentless pressure to find another hit, soon became addicted to sleeping pills, while Karen developed the anorexia that would lead to her death aged just 32.

Last night's documentary had Richard - in exactly the sort of sensible jumper one imagines him wearing - looking back over their career. He seemed to be a decent man; level-headed and honest, but - and this may be a cliched point of view - somewhat sad.

Of course, there was no Karen. Instead we watched her waste away before our eyes, from a bright and beautiful teenager to a skeleton. And nobody knew how to help her.

Tragic? Tragic barely covers it.

Still, we'll always have the records. I wonder how many people went over to the CD shelf and picked out The Carpenters' greatest hits as soon as the programme finished.

What a crying shame we lost her.