The twins at the centre of the tug-over-war

It was a tale that seemed too bizarre to be true, and the international media descended to hear more from the all-too-willing pair.

Not only did they tell of an internet baby broker, rival would-be parents and a cross-country car chase, the 40-something couple themselves cut quite an unconventional dash.

They were alleged to have courted Hollywood to sell their story - a claim the couple strenuously deny. They were also said to have spoken of ghosts inhabiting their rural retreat.

Yet their openness badly backfired when, two days later, the local county council issued an emergency protection order and took the twins into care.

They have talked themselves into a bottomless hole

Max Clifford

There has been much public criticism of the Kilshaws, in part fuelled by their high media profile.

PR guru Max Clifford has since volunteered his services free of charge to, he says, help the couple make the best of a bad situation. His advice? Say nothing more.

"I have made it very clear they have talked themselves into a bottomless hole, and if they continue to spout off it's going to get bigger and bigger," he has said.

Larger-than-life

Judith and Alan Kilshaw, who were married eight years ago, have two sons, seven-year-old James and Rupert, aged four.

Alan Kilshaw: Said to be courting Hollywood

They share a 300-year-old converted farmhouse a few miles outside the Flintshire town of Buckley.

Alan, 45, is a specialist housing solicitor and generally plays the more articulate and considered foil to his wife's wounded outpourings.

Formerly a member of the Conservative party - "[I] became disillusioned when they ousted Mrs Thatcher" - he is a founding member of the far-right Democratic Party. The small party, oddly, takes a hard line against immigration.

Judith, 47, who assists with her husband's business, says the furore over the adoption has made her the "most hated woman in Britain".

A flamboyant and emotive woman, her taste for appearing on breakfast television in sparkly eveningwear has calmed somewhat.

Although her husband is typically more soberly dressed, he last week arrived at the High Court in a Stars and Stripes tie and a drape jacket.

Hard lesson

The publicity about the adoption prompted former colleagues, neighbours and relatives - including Mrs Kilshaw's daughters from a previous relationship - to come forward with allegations about the couple.

Judith Kilshaw: "Most hated woman in Britain"

Neighbours complained of a noisy house overrun with animals, and the local British Legion club revealed it had once banned Mrs Kilshaw for rowdy behaviour.

In all, the couple have learned the true cost of going public with their fight to keep the babies.

As Mrs Kilshaw has said, "I am going to have to live with this for the rest of my life."