Families At War (C4): TWO brothers who haven't spoken to each other for a year are sent to a remote farmhouse to sort out their differences.

One is accompanied by his pregnant girlfriend, who previously caused him to attempt suicide after she left him. The other is with his wife, increasingly bitter at hostilities in this unhappy family.

The fifth guest is the brothers' mum, who says - and no-one can blame her - "For a mother, it's heartbreaking, isn't it?".

This, however, isn't a fictional scenario for a new family drama but a TV reality show in which the brothers have agreed to a radical new form of mediation in a bid to settle their bitter feud.

The hope is that the week spent in the farmhouse, under the guidance of mediator Martin Dodd, will heal the rift.

I felt worried when it was revealed that this type of mediation has only been used before in marital disputes. Clearly, TV is taking it upon itself to try to cure all ills, from school dinners to people looking for love.

I'm not sure I want to settle down in front of the TV and watch relatives arguing for nearly an hour. There was even one moment when the brothers looked like they might come to blows.

As with many family disputes, the cause of the disagreement was something relatively minor and had escalated into world war proportions. It centred around a business that brothers Paul and Scott had set up. Paul felt Scott didn't show enough commitment; Scott felt Paul should have paid him for his work.

Dodd's method was calm and collected. First, Paul told Scott his point of view. The next evening, Scott told Paul his concerns. They were detailed to clear a stream as a team in an effort to get them communicating with each other.

Paul stubbornly refused to play along, declining to eat at the same table as his brother. Wife Gaynor resented that pregnant Michelle was given a less strenuous task because of her condition.

Once they started speaking, there was no stopping them. Unfortunately, it consisted of flinging abuse and accusations at each other. Mum Susan, whom Paul accused of taking sides, was caught in the middle. The situation was upsetting her, although the brothers were too blinkered to see how ill it was making her. "Last night was the worst I've seen them. They look as though they want to kill each other," she said.

Dodd's masterstroke - and no laughing at the back - was to get the whole family, including two more brothers imported for the occasion, to build a chicken coop. I suppose if all else failed, he could just have locked Paul and Scott in there and let them get on with it.

As it was, they made up. Their mum was ecstatic. "It's better than winning the Lottery," she declared. Whether the programme will win big audiences remains to be seen.

Published: ??/??/2004