On TV

The Twin Inside Me: Extraordinary People (five)

Dalziel And Pascoe (BBC1)

AS soon as Lydia Fairchild had given birth, DNA and blood samples were taken from both her and her baby by a witness to the delivery room. When the results of the tests came back, the scientific conclusion was that she couldn't possibly be the mother of the baby.

Karen Keegan had a similar problem. DNA tests to find a suitable kidney donor revealed that she couldn't be the mother of the two sons she'd raised.

Further tests in her family showed if you put the DNA of her brother and her husband together that would be a perfect match for her children.

The Twin Inside was both extraordinary but worrying at a time when DNA evidence is being relied upon increasingly in criminal cases. The experiences of Lydia and Karen proved that it can be wrong.

Rather than being just another Monday night TV freak show, Extraordinary People highlighted a rare genetic condition - chimera - of which less than 40 cases worldwide are known.

That's the current thinking. The programme pointed out that it may not be as rare as people think as it's only detected in extreme cases or when patients are tested for something else.

In Lydia's case, she applied for welfare benefits. Routine DNA tests indicated she couldn't be the mother of her children. She faced being charged with welfare fraud and having her children taken away.

Karen was luckier as doctors rather than law enforcement agencies took an interest and tried to discover why her DNA didn't match that of her children. As a result, they traced her sons' DNA to her brother and husband. The tests on Lydia and her new-born third child were an extreme method of proving that tests can lie.

Sometimes chimera is obvious, as we saw in an Afro-American baby whose pigmentation was fair on one side of the body and dark on the other, and who was female on the left side and male on the right.

It's all to do with the fusion of eggs during pregnancy, although what causes the condition remains a mystery.

The puzzle as detectives Dalziel And Pascoe returned for a tenth series was whether the pair would ever speak civilly to each other as they investigated the case of a suicide who'd blown off half his face with a shotgun.

It reached the point where they were arguing over corpses in the morgue, prompting the pathologist to tell them, "Can you bicker outside, I have work to do".

The case involved talk of new wills, old arguments and, in Dalziel's case, a former girlfriend from a case 20 years previously. This made him grumpier than normal. Even the normally placid Pascoe lost his cool: "We're supposed to be a team, Andy, and every time I walk in to a room, you're walking out," he said.

As the series has several more weeks to run, we can assume that they'll kiss and make up

Talking Heads,

Harrogate Theatre

MIDDLE-aged Graham feels threatened after his mam meets an old boyfriend. Vicar's wife Susan deals with life by drowning her sorrows. And Doris's obsession with tidying up has potentially tragic repercussions.

The three plays - well, monologues - that artistic director Hannah Chissick has chosen for her last production at Harrogate will be familiar from the TV versions of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads.

Indeed, the voice of Bennett comes across loud and clear in David Holt's rendition of A Chip In The Sugar, which sees Graham worring and whittering on about his mam paying more interest in an old flame than her devoted son.

Chissick directs both this and the final piece, A Cream Cracker Under The Settee, which has Marlene Sidaway filling the Thora Hird-created role of Doris. Her performance is more sure-footed and after a fall leaves the frail pensioner on the floor and reflecting on her life and cleaning routine.

Sandwiched in the middle is Bed Among The Lentils, in which deeply unhappy Susan owns up to finding solace in alcohol to cope with life as the local vicar's wife. Here, Helen Weir cuts a tragic figure as she sits huddled in her Aga-dominated kitchen under Phil Lowe's direction.

All three are played out on Philip Witcomb's revolving set with a back wall of windows which "open" to reveal the sad lives of Bennett's characters.

l Until March 18. Tickets 01423 502 116.

Steve Pratt

Editors, Carling Academy, Newcastle

RUMOUR has it that Editors turned down a slot on the NME tour because they preferred to headline their own tour and tickets were quickly snapped up once they went on sale. Thankfully, they didn't disappoint, tearing through material from their sublime debut album The Back Room, as well as a couple of new tunes and B sides.

Opening act Fields certainly set a high standard for the evening and are a band with great potential to do something special. Main support Brakes were an intriguing proposition: their set was littered with ten-second songs as well as country and western influenced ballads. But it was All Night Disco Party that really stood out and it's one everyone will have heard.

After opening with Lights, some were surprised that Blood, perhaps their most popular track, was second. But this didn't stop Editors storming through a memorable 80-minute set, with anthems like Munich that will probably still be popular in 20 years time. It's difficult to pick a track that really stood out as they are all quite brilliant: even the slower-paced Camera was awesome.

Editors now face the problem of the difficult second album, but new song Bones gave an indication that it will be a walk in the park to replicate The Back Room. With fantastic albums and stunning live shows, this band is quickly heading towards being one of the best bands in the world.

Keir Waugh