The Martin Lewis Money Show - TV review

If you responded: "Just send me your bank details and I'll be right on it," then maybe you need to turn over to ITV1. The self-styled Money Saving Expert is here to help.

Martin Lewis, a regular Shropshire Star columnist, took his grand quest to save the nation from itself to a new medium last night.

For a long time, Lewis has preached frugality, and the power of the consumer, through different approaches including his website, national radio shows, and newspapers like ours.

So cut back on your credit card and excommunicate your energy supplier . . . it's time to watch and learn.

First off, Lewis and his new sidekick, the former Apprentice candidate Saira Kahn, head for Borough Market in London to talk to shoppers about their approach to saving money on their energy bills.

He wants to encourage people to get the best deal on their utilities, and collars a number of unsuspecting shoppers to check whether they have changed supplier recently – most haven't, and are throwing away hundreds of pounds a year.

He finds similar problems when he's chasing commuters around Euston Station to find out whether they are paying too much for their train tickets.

Much of what Lewis says – and he's pretty much always bang on the money – he has already preached elsewhere, including in these very pages.

And while the rapid pace at which he rattles through his points may be a good way of motivating the viewer, it's hard to keep up with all his points.

Now, I'm not preaching the benefits of newspapers at all costs, but it's easier to pick up the minutiae of ways to save money when it's placed in front of you on a printed page.

I followed all his basic points - it pays to switch energy supplier; credit cards have their benefits if you pay them off in full – but it's helpful to keep the information he provides at your fingertips if you want to make the most of it.

Lewis has, of course, become something of an economical evangelist in recent times, and has become a household name as the squeeze on household income gets ever tighter, so playing the role of the manic street preacher shouting his message of thrifty consumption fits him very well.

That becomes the necessary source of entertainment in the show – how to save on your energy bills can provide slightly dry television, and he was up against Hot Shots on Film Four for his opening half hour.

He has to inject zest into the proceedings, which he does with snazzy graphics, catchphrases, shaky camerawork and daft props like wooden trains.

Martin Lewis, it's fair to say, knows his onions. He knows all about avoiding unnecessary heavy spending (despite being a Manchester City supporter!), and about where to go to save your cash.

Now he has plenty of platforms from which to preach his vision of a thrifty future for Britain, and still does so in a clear and forthright way.

And if, as Lewis says, a few minutes on the computer is the difference between going on holiday next year and sitting at home in front of Cash In The Attic, it is probably best to listen.

Thom Kennedy