Review by Julian Hall

Had it not been for the row of guys behind me who cracked up ironically at every cheesy innuendo that dropped from the mouth of porn legend Ben Dover, this show might not have been as entertaining as it was. In view of this, the snapshot star rating should perhaps carry the health warning: bring a pinch of salt to season. Even the man himself had to laugh at those who chose to laugh at him rather than with him. ‘That’s the level we’re at, it doesn’t get any better,’ he acknowledges.

He’s not wrong. However, the ‘money shot man’ who has performed on both sides of the camera during his long career is a welcoming, if not totally natural, host. His show is part a glossed-over life story (of his early life we merely learn that his dad was a carpenter and thus worked with wood…) and part A-Z of sex. Well, mainly the letters M for masturbation and S for sex toys.

There’s a lack of really engrossing stories in this show, but some interesting moments. So while he tells us that his access to porn helped him gain favoured status from officers at Brixton Prison, where he served nine months in his early career, there’s no attempt to colour this further. Meanwhile the mishaps on set are presumably only the kind of slapstick ones that would get past a legal advisor; they are amusing without being insightful.

A quick flick through the finer points of sexual positions including ‘the ATM’ serves to underline that this is a classic after-the-pub, not-for-everyone, show albeit held a few hours earlier than the generous Edinburgh Festival closing times. Perhaps as well as the salt, you should bring some lime and tequila to go with it.

Review date: 15 Aug 2009
Reviewed by: Julian Hall