Hidden Lives: Old Enough To Be His Mother (five)

ONE Life: 3 Sisters Make 1 Baby (BBC1)

WATCHING Hidden Lives I couldn't help recalling the time on The Word when a young man desperate for 15 minutes of fame French kissed a toothless pensioner.

A cruel thought, perhaps, but seeing 70-year-old Edna and 31-year-old Simon canoodling naked in the shower had given me a shock. The scene was unnecessary, we got the message that they were in love without seeing that.

Edna doesn't care what people think. "We just love each other. People who have a problem, that's their problem not ours," she says.

What linked the older women/younger men in the programme wasn't just the age gap but the seaside - several lived on the coast. Is there something in the sea air?

For Edna and Simon, it was love at first sight. "He came through the door and lit up like a Christmas tree," she said. Instead of calling the fire brigade, they sneaked off for their first kiss under the pier at Weston-Super-Mare.

Norma, 59, wasn't impressed when she saw Chris, 27. She took one look at his shaven head and thought he was going to mug her and steal her handbag not her heart.

Mother of ten Ruth, 49, took over a year before deciding to go on a date with Simon, 21. This isn't surprising when you consider the statistics - she's ten years older than his mother and six of her children are older than him.

But a younger man is good for her. She suffers from a rare condition known as multiple orgasm syndrome (worth a Hidden Lives documentary of its own, I'd have thought), so having a younger man to satisfy her "sky high" sexual drive is handy, even if Simon admits that sometimes he's getting too much of a good thing.

The women admitted that a younger man was good for their sex life. Simon - a virgin until meeting Edna - talked of their "wonderfully healthy love life". Norma, who had plastic surgery to iron out her wrinkles, was all for sex with a younger man. "I don't want some miserable old codger who's not interested in me," she said.

Clearly, these couples would do anything for each other, but three women featured in ONE Life were doing something no-one had done before - the first known surrogacy case involving three sisters. Alex was infertile following treatment for cervical cancer. Her husband provided the sperm, her twin Charlotte gave the eggs and sister Helen the body for the pregnancy.

The documentary followed their quest through IVF treatment to the birth of an 8lb 7oz boy named Charlie George. It proved an emotional rollercoaster for the sisters - and a few viewers too, I bet - because of the conflicting emotions it caused in the sisters. And Alex's desperate longing for a child manifested itself in all sorts of worries about how a baby carried by another woman would react to her.

But, as Helen said: "I'm making it for Alex, I don't look at it as if I'm giving my baby away".

Oklahoma, Darlington Civic Theatre

I missed the last production at the Civic by Darlington's very own Operatic Society, so I was surprised and delighted with the wealth of fresh young talent displayed to great advantage in the ever-popular Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma.

Andrew Wright as Curly is only 18 years old but tackled the demanding role with confidence, his light tenor voice easily coping with the range of songs.

Curly's sweetheart Laurey was played by Joanne Mason in her first principal role, with a tuneful voice that effectively conveyed Laurey's youth and shyness. They made an appealing couple, even though someone's little sister in the audience ruined their first stage kiss by loudly shouting "eeeuw", causing laughter which didn't seem to put them off!

June Aiken was warm and comforting in the role of Aunt Eller, keeping everyone under control with her wry humour, and David Curtis' Jud Fry was darkly scary. When he took his bow he received boos from the audience, a compliment to his acting which he acknowledged with a delighted smile.

Debbie Barrigan as Ado Annie Carnes, the girl who 'cain't say no', was charming and funny, and the dancing led by Nicholas Holmes as Will Parker was astonishingly good - men dancing! Whatever next?

A special mention for Clair Carter as Gertie, for the best deliberately irritating laugh I've heard for ages.

Darlington Operatic Society goes from strength to strength. Rehearsals for Sweet Charity start this month for production in April.

* Runs until Saturday. Booking Office (01325) 486555

Sue Heath