The UK Care Quality Commission last year installed recording devices in selected facilities throughout the country, with a view to increasing elderly care quality and security.

An award-winning BBC producer and documentarian subsequently applied for the release of the tapes, and whilst elderly friends Dot and Elspeth were initially unconvinced, they have subsequently agreed to the release of their frank, poignant and somewhat unconventional conversations.

Each episode features audio verité-style recordings of Elspeth and Dot as they struggle to come to terms with their failing health, their preoccupied families and a life that appears hell-bent on removing every last drop of their dignity and independence.