In episode 6, Melody faces up to another awkward phone call, we learn about how intimacy is affected by life-threatening illness, visit an "adult entertainment store" and sex therapist Edit Horvath identifies some of the common issues faced by those in their 50s.

In BANG! episode 6 sex therapist Edit Horvath identifies some of the common challenges faced by those in their 50s, and we learn about how intimacy is affected by life-threatening illness. Plus Melody braves a "sex shop" to find out what's on offer for couples hoping to 'spice up' their sex lives.

She writes about that experience below.

Sex shops are a lot different now than the last time I visited one. For a start, they're not called "sex shops" anymore - staff preferring the term 'adult lifestyle store' because, as my Peaches & Cream tour guide Dan points out - "we don't sell sex".

If that's the case what they do sell is certainly sex-adjacent - everything from vibrators and dildos, to 'fleshlights', lube, porn DVDs and whatever you might need for a bit of entry-level BDSM. But there are no heavy curtains or dark corners - in fact the store is bright, neatly arranged and clean - a quick glance and you might think you were looking at a chemist.

"You're buying a product that you're basically putting in yourself, so it's gotta be clean and nice," says Dan.

Over half an hour Dan shows me around his shop, at my request focusing in on the types of things requested by or recommended to those in their 50s and early 60s hoping to 'spice things up'. He begins by showing me what a sex toy looked like 'back in the day', compared with today. The older ones are more closely modelled on male anatomy, aside from the bunny head growing out of the side, whereas these days female sex toys are much more streamlined, almost futuristic-looking, and are made from non-porous silicone so they don't harbour bacteria. Many are rechargeable "so they have a lot more power", some can even be controlled via smartphone - adding a tactile component to traditional phone or webcam sex, and one brand even has a clitoral stimulator that sucks- literally. Dan turns it on and urges me to put my finger up to it - sure enough, it latches on.

"They're a lot quieter than the older ones as well," says Dan, knowingly…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details