Grand Designs Abroad (C4): THE thing about programmes like Grand Designs - and now its sunnier spin-off Grand Designs Abroad - is the pleasure taken in seeing things go wrong. You don't want to watch someone spending vast amounts of money, achieving their dream and living happily ever after.

That's not half as interesting as witnessing those dreams turn into nightmares. But that didn't happen as the property development programme, one of the jewels in C4's property portfolio, returned.

Presenter Kevin McCloud did his best to play up the problems but this build was easy-peasy compared with past projects in the series. One of main reasons was that Gil Briffa is an architect and knew what he was doing. Getting his son, also an architect, to design a retirement home for him and his wife Hilary was a masterstroke. How could they go wrong with their self-build on a virgin plot of land up in the spectacular Andalucian hills?

The bold design for the building to be constructed on the eight acres of land they'd bought for £35,000 could have been tricky, not least because of the look. A sort of glass box perched on the hill, the house was very different to the other buildings in the area.

That turned out to be the main obstacle. The worst thing that happened was that the mayor wasn't happy that the non-glass walls were going to be painted in strong colours rather than the white demanded by the local council.

But Gil even got his way on that in the end, despite a half-hearted attempt to make it all white on the night when the council hinted it might refuse to sign off the building and deny them electricity.

The Briffas sensibly entrusted the project to a local builder, who knew everyone and was totally reliable. Gil, back in England and only visiting every few weeks, worried that the construction was going too fast. How unlike most programmes like this where building work gets hideously behind schedule.

So what snags were there? A staircase had to be modified but without any great hassle. There was a slight delay in the arrival of the glass, one of the key elements of the house, and work ground to a halt for the first time in 11 months. But it was delivered eventually and fitted perfectly.

When completed, the house - total cost, a cool £250,000 - looked spectacular, sending McCloud into raptures of delight. Even living in a glass box under the unrelenting Spanish sun didn't matter because the concrete overhanging roof kept it cool.

Everyone was happy with the outcome - the Briffas, the locals, McCloud. Everyone except those wanting property development disasters.

Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle And Dick, Harrogate Theatre

FANS will spot the connection with the Carry On comedies in the title which refers to four of the films in the broad, British comedy series.

Those movies also give Terry Johnson the basis for his play focusing on three of the most famous Carry On faces - Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor.

Each scene is set during the making of one of the films. The play makes constant references to the comedies and even constructs its own mini Carry On farce as Sid is caught with three half-naked women in his trailer.

But Johnson is more interested in exploring the people themselves. There's Sid the gambler and womaniser, who can't keep his hands off a pretty girl; Barbara, the perky blonde who marries a gangster and has an affair with Sid; and Kenneth, the camp comedian forever moaning about conditions on the set.

While Kenneth wards off reality with a torrent of acid remarks, Sid and Barbara try to ignore their mutual attraction, not least because her husband's heavy Eddie has a gun and instructions to keep them apart.

Hannah Chissick's engaging production shows how close comedy and tragedy are to each other as this odd threesome play out their games, with interruptions from dolly bird Imogen and dresser Sally.

The three main actors face the tricky proposition of suggesting performers we know very well without resorting to mere impersonations. Zoe Oakes is a dead ringer for Barbara, while Michael N Harbour (Sid) and Stephen Matthews (Kenneth) have enough of the real people about them to remind us who we're watching.

Until September 25. Tickets 01423 502116.

Steve Pratt

Journey's End, Newcastle Theatre Royal

RC Sherriff's play, set in the last days of the Great War, is on the GCSE syllabus, and the theatre was packed with youngsters keen to see the text come to life.

And come to life it certainly did, with finely-drawn characters and a superb cast, each actor's performance a demonstration of excellence.

First performed in 1928, Journey's End tells the story of a group of soldiers led by Stanhope, a young captain who has been at the front too long but is determined to do his duty. His second-in-command is Lt. Osborne, a former teacher and a family man who loves his garden. New arrival Raleigh is fresh from school, where he hero-worshipped rugby and cricket captain Stanhope.

You can't help but become absorbed in the characters and their courage; the poignancy of the boy Raleigh's excitement at the prospect of a daring raid on enemy lines. Osborne's quiet dignity in the face of almost certain death; were ordinary men ever really this noble, this brave?

The answer is yes, they were. The play is based on Sherriff's own experiences at the front line and the characters on actual servicemen. The dialogue is amazingly fresh, the gentle humour heart-warming and the acting so convincing that you dread the inevitable conclusion because the men have become your companions, too.

I was wiping away tears at the end, which is uncompromising, dramatic and sombre. This production was a satisfying, funny, deeply moving experience.

Until Saturday. Booking Office: 0870 905 5060

Sue Heath

Published: ??/??/2004