It's hilarious and thought provoking - the TV show Grumpy Old Women allows female celebs to air their pet hates before the nation. But what gripes do women in York want to get off their chests? Maxine Gordon finds out...

Dorothy Dawson, 65, volunteer with Cats Protection League Shop, Walmgate, York

"I don't like home make-over shows on telly. They tell you to get rid of your clutter, all the things you've been given by people over the years. The things you have in your house remind you of the people who gave you them. A house that doesn't have things like that in it is like a room in a shop. It doesn't look personalised or homely.

"I also hate queues, midday ones are the worst. Places never have enough staff. Years ago, they used to employ people to work through lunch time, now they don't.

"Also, I hoped that when I retired I'd be able to go for lunches with friends, or visit relatives. But the truth is, you can't afford to do it. When you think how you worked all those years, that's not right."

Beryl Otley, 62, owner of Get Ahead Hats, York

"Cold calling on the telephone. You are just getting down to something at work when the phone goes. You stop to answer, it may be a customer. But it's somebody saying: 'Do you realise you've won something...'.

"My other pet hate is traffic. York is so terrible now. I've stopped coming in to the city centre. I now bank at Wetherby, where I can park right outside, and shop in Harrogate, which has lots of multi-storey car-parks in the town centre. If I shop in York it will be at Clifton Moor, Monks Cross or the McArthurGlen Designer Centre. I know you can use the Park & Ride, but it's not great if you have lots of shopping."

Elizabeth Wright, 64, who runs her Ivy Cottage catering business from her home in Wilberfoss

"What really maddens me is people who are late. If somebody makes an appointment with you and they are late it's like them saying to you that my time is more important than yours.

"Faddy eaters are also annoying. I can understand people who have nut allergies but a lot of things which people don't eat are things which are good for them. You can always tell by looking at somebody what foods they don't eat: those who don't eat dairy products, you can see it in their fingernails.

"I also don't like people who are purposefully difficult. No person has a God-given right to make another person miserable."

Carole Chui, 60, part-time immigration judge and alternative therapist from York

"It would have to be work and the fact that you can't have a life. When I think back to being young, what I remember about work was talking to colleagues and going out in the evening, but when I look back on the past ten years or so everything is crowded around the edge of work. I worry about young people and what sort of life they will have. A colleague's 21-year-old son has just joined a large firm of solicitors and been told he will earn a lot of money but should forget about any relationships outside work."

Grumpy Old Women, BBC2, Friday, 10pm. What makes you grumpy? Write to let us know or email features@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 09:41 Tuesday, March 15, 2005