WHEN it comes to cursing I bow to no-one in my prissiness. Not even Mary Whitehouse (who, I think you will agree in these Naked Attraction days, had a point).

Yet as it turned out, the most heartening hour of the television week was spent in the company of someone who dropped the C-bomb like Eliza Doolittle did her aitches.

The fact that Elizabeth, the subject of The Mum Who Got Tourette’s (Channel 4, Thursday), swore was rather beside the point. Only 10 per cent of people with TS have coprolalia. The involuntary sounds and movements made by others with the condition range widely, from blinking to repeating a particular word or phrase. Elizabeth swore, but she might just as well have been saying “kettle” as “****”. That it was the latter made her tics more likely to attract attention.

She developed the neurological disorder “out of the blue” three years ago. It turned out that one of her three children also had TS. While he is now managing the condition it was thought at one point he would have to drop out of mainstream schooling.

Elizabeth’s husband Simon laughed a lot. As did Elizabeth. But as Simon said, “Elizabeth puts on a brave face but she is a sufferer.” We saw her courage on a rare night out for a family meal. People stared. People do. Hearteningly, they were in the minority. She looked exhausted and stressed, but she ploughed through for her family.

Disabled people rightly hate being called brave, inspirational and all those gooey words. As Elizabeth said: “At the end of the day it’s just Tourette’s. It’s not going to kill you.” True, but respect to her all the same.

Your Home Made Perfect (BBC2, Tuesday) returned for a second series. Every successful home makeover show must have a gimmick, whether it is Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his MDF in Changing Rooms, or Phil and Kirstie dispensing couples therapy and advice on extensions in Love It Or List It. Your Home Made Perfect used virtual reality to show homeowners what the finished build would look like.

Silvia and Julian had bought their bungalow in Sussex four years ago. Outdoors was lovely, indoors was a gloomy warren. Two architects presented their plans, and the couple had to choose between them. Exciting? Not very.

In this instance, the couple went with the design that featured a wooden bath in the kitchen. As you would.

The competition element of the show felt forced. On the upside it was full of handy tips and Angela Scanlon, the Irish presenter, was an asset, taking things seriously, but not too seriously.

The couple were delighted with their new home and invited Scanlon to stay for dinner. The last shot was of Silvia, lying in the bath, bubbles covering her modesty, a few feet away from where Julian was putting supper together. “This is not as weird as it looks,” said Scanlon, handing the lady of the house a G&T. It was, dear, it was.

Only three more episodes of Homeland (Channel 4, Sunday) to go before Carrie and Saul sign off for good. Recent series featuring a crazed, paranoid president were a little too in tune with the times for comfort. It says something that this one, set in Afghanistan, where it all began after 9/11, should qualify as escapist viewing.

With the familiar setting and themes, the last hurrah looked like a retread at first. While it still creaks in places, and some characters are more cartoonish than realistic, it has picked up considerably since. The relationship between Carrie and Saul remains fascinating. It is a father-daughter bond in everything bar blood, with the tensions between them ebbing and flowing over the years. The one constant is that weak politicians and their scheming aides always let them down, and we know it will fall to the poor bloody infantry, Carrie to the fore, to save the day.

Sitcoms are possibly the most important programmes bar the news bulletins at the moment. Alma’s Not Normal (BBC2, Tuesday) was about three women, a gran, mother and daughter, Alma, from Bolton.

Alma (Sophie Willan, who writes and stars, above left) grew up with a heroin addict for a mum. “Think the baby from Trainspotting if she’d lived.” Dumped by her boyfriend and out of work, much of Alma’s time was taken up with trying to heal the rift between her mum and her gran (Siobhan Finneran and Sue Vincent).

It was certainly grim up north. Sometimes the best comedies spring from tragedy, though. Here, the central cast members are solid gold and the writing is as sharp as a diamond. Willan was able to write the pilot after winning the Caroline Aherne Bursary. I reckon the genius behind The Royle Family and The Mrs Merton Show would have recognised a fellow soul in Willan. I can think of no higher compliment.