TV review

THE title made it sound like a particularly blue episode of Blue Peter in which an old washing up liquid bottle and some sticky back plastic was used to make something useful. Indeed, at one point lesbian Katie and gay man Ricky were shown pooling their reproductive sources to make a baby. This was deemed less scary than doing the deed the natural way.

Katie didn't much enjoy inseminating herself with a syringe and contents supplied by friend Ricky. "That felt, well, disgusting - I'd rather have an enema," she said. Not a very romantic way of making babies, but Debbie and George took great delight in describing the process in great detail, using a DIY kit purchased on the Internet. "This has got to be one of the most bizarre things I've ever done to another human being," declared Debbie after "injecting" George with sperm donated by a friend.

Four years ago, millionaire businessman Tony and Barrie, his partner of 15 years, were Britain's first openly gay parents of surrogate children, namely Aspen and Saffron. Now they're expecting again - having rented a womb with a view to having son Orlando - and this is where it gets complicated. They conceived using a cutting edge American gender selection technique banned in the UK.

A previously unused egg was defrosted to create a third child, who'll be half-brother to Saffron and identical twin to Aspen, although born four years later. All of which sounds like something out of a science fiction film.

No one can begrudge those in gay relationships wanting children and, despite the surreal beginning of this two-part documentary, the dilemmas they face became all too clear.

Pregnant 20-year-old George's relationship went into crisis as partner Debbie - who has six children from a previous non-gay relationship - tried to accept that she'd have no biological rights over George's baby.

Tony and Barrie faced accusations that two gay men couldn't raise children as well as a mummy and daddy. "Don't you tell me I am not a good parent because I'm gay," snapped Tony. What you couldn't help thinking was that his wealth helped cushion any problems they encountered.

For all the bizarre scenes involving yoghurt pots, plastic syringes and a surrogate mother classing herself as "a glorified babysitter", Making Babies The Gay Way proved an eye-opening insight into the lengths some people are prepared to go to start a family.

The King's Consort: Durham Cathedral

THE splendour of Durham Cathedral provided a perfect backdrop for the recreation of the coronation of King George II. In a mesmerising performance, the King's Consort transported a capacity audience back in time to savour the full pomp and ceremony of the pageant.

Robert King's eponymous group set out to recreate an authentic experience, drawing from contemporary accounts of the Westminster Service on October 11, 1727. The event on the day itself was imperfect, with musical confusion reigning and the printed order bearing little relation to what actually happened.

While for historical purists, the latter-day effort may not have been strictly accurate, the audience was left with a convincing flavour of the spectacle. The evening opened with a fanfare of trumpets echoing through the vast cathedral, followed by a procession of rolling drums leading to William Child's opening chorus O Lord Grant the King a Long Life. The programme included works from Henry Purcell, Thomas Tallis, John Farmer, John Blow and Orlando Gibbons. But the star was George Frideric Handel, who was commissioned to write the anthems for the coronation. His spectacular Grand Instrumental Procession filled the cavernous cathedral to the rafters.

A highlight was Handel's Zadok the Priest - performed at all subsequent coronations. The choir sailed with ease through the Gibbons' mighty Te Deum, while it took Handel's My Heart is Indicting to cosmic heights. It all ended as it began - with a hearty trumpet fanfare and receding drum procession. The audience was left with an true sense of occasion.

Gavin Engelbrecht

Justin Timberlake, Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

ALTHOUGH still on the right side of 30, I felt old among the audience at the Metro Radio Arena. The venue was packed with rows of girls whose average age was about 14, hyperventilating at the thought of seeing their idol in the flesh. They had to wait awhile - Mr Timberlake didn't make his entrance until around 9.15pm, over an hour after the concert started. In the meantime, we were entertained by a Metro Radio DJ, who warmed us up with the latest chart hits and teased us that Justin was watching us, just having a shower etc. It wasn't my cup of tea, but the girls seemed to lap it up.

When Justin finally did appear, after an ill-conceived break in which all the lights came on, the excitement reached fever pitch. There was no disputing his talent as he belted out smash hits like Dance With Me and Cry Me a River, exuding cool charisma as he interacted with his dancers. The fact that he could match them step for step in complicated routines made him eminently watchable. Notwithstanding his 'trouser snake' tag, he even showed us that he was a nice, well brought-up boy by thanking us for a successful 2003 and for our hospitality. Aside from a bit of padding to make up for his lack of hits (after all, he hasn't been on the scene that long), this was a thoroughly enjoyable show, which really had the audience "Lovin' It".

Sarah Foster

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