S2012 · E32

2012-11-25

Abducted! It's been the most public and bitter of family feuds - two parents, four children split across the world and splashed all over the media. The story begins with a desperate escape. Mum, Laura, flees Italy and her allegedly violent Italian husband, to return home with the couple's four daughters. Two years later, the Australian Federal Police arrive on the doorstep and literally drag the children onto a plane back to Italy. Watching those girls struggle against the police and scream for their mother, it all seemed so heavy handed and so wrong. But there are two sides to every story and this Sunday night for the first time, you'll hear what Dad's got to say. And there's a third player in this sorry tale: the Australian government which knowingly aided and abetted an international kidnap. Reporter: Tara Brown Producers: Gareth Harvey, Steven Burling Unlikely Princess A few years back, the British Royals were so unpopular they could do no right. Then came the wedding of William and Kate and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Now, with their recent trip to Australia, Prince Charles and Camilla proved The Firm is more popular than ever, much to the chagrin of Republicans like Charles Wooley. What you might not have noticed while you were out fluttering your Union Jacks, was that another Royal had slipped into town. Zara Phillips, the Queen's eldest granddaughter and darling of the English horsey set was on the Gold Coast doing a little bit of, dare we say, commercial business. Reporter: Charles Wooley Producer: Stephen Taylor The Seekers Before AC/DC, before INXS, before the Bee Gees, even before the Easybeats, Australia had a supergroup that was as big and as successful as any band in the world. They were and are The Seekers: Judith Durham, Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley. The Seekers started out in 1962, an endearingly daggy folk group that, against all odds, outsold the Rolling Stones, played alongside The Beatles and drew two hundred thousand people to a single concert. They've been through their ups and downs, as you do over a half century but now, they're back and their songs are as contagious as ever. Reporter: Ray Martin Producer: Sandra Cleary By Design How far would you go to choose the sex of your baby? For Jodi and Andrew McMahon, the proud parents of seven sons, the answer was halfway around the world. Earlier this year, Tara Brown joined the McMahon tribe on their epic quest for a baby girl. The method they used - called gender selection - is extremely controversial, so much so that it's banned in this country. But, nine months on, it's hard to argue with the results. Reporter: Tara Brown Producer: Sandra Cleary