Unknown Paternity Storylines BEFORE DNA profiling
So how many storylines were there where someone's paternity was unconfirmed BEFORE we had DNA profiling?
I'm pretty sure that Pat in Eastenders had been sleeping with multiple men so didn't know who Simon's father was.
Another good example was baby Robert in Sons and Daughters. After he had been kidnapped, Beryl believed she had found him (and indeed she had) but Leigh made her brother put a fake birth mark on the baby to throw her off the trail. (This is more an example of there being no way of proving that Robert actually was her son, rather than working out the identity of the father.)
I'm pretty sure that Pat in Eastenders had been sleeping with multiple men so didn't know who Simon's father was.
Another good example was baby Robert in Sons and Daughters. After he had been kidnapped, Beryl believed she had found him (and indeed she had) but Leigh made her brother put a fake birth mark on the baby to throw her off the trail. (This is more an example of there being no way of proving that Robert actually was her son, rather than working out the identity of the father.)
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I'm shocked to know they didn't have DNA profiling in the late 80's?
When i started watching soaps in the 80s there were countless. Whose the Daddy plots which would go on for months or even years as the only possible means of ID was blood tests and that only proved a man couldn't be the father, not that he was. So, if the 2 father's had different blood types then one could be discounted but if they were the same, there was no way of knowing. Mason and Mark were like that in Santa Barbara for Mary's baby.
Ones that spring to mind though we're John Ross Ewing III (Jr or Cliff)
Fallon Carrington (Blakeor Cecil)
Lauren Colby (Miles of Jeff)
John and Angela In sons and Daughters (David or Martin)
Mary in sons and daughters (was she Wayne's sister)
I'm sure there were a loot on UK soaps as well - Simon Wicks being a primary one.
Sarah Louise Platt in corrie (Brian or Ian)
You're welcome. Be at relatives and quite bored this afternoon and evening so keep Em coming!
That was in 1987.
DNA testing was still very new at the time. The first scientific paper on DNA profiling was published in 1985 and the first conviction based on DNA evidence was Colin Pitchfork in 1988 (arrested late 1987).
Im sure I will become unstuck soon!
Thanks for that and good Boys as well. I was pretty much guessing at mid 90s as i knew it wasn't around in the 80s - at least in soaps.
I imagine there probably were a few years where the police had access to it for crimes (although i bet it was expensive) but standard GPs, let along the General public didn't for something like ascertaining paternity.
I think 'home kits' have only come into play in the last 15 years or so (rough guess).
For example, Adam Carrington in Dynasty where they had this huge issue as to whether he was or wasn't Adam. Early on they did say that the medical records they'd had for the baby (Adam was kidnapped when he was 2) had been destroyed in a fire at the Hospital so they couldn't check against that but they never even mentioned doing a blood test to see if he was the same group as his Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister.
Of course it wouldn't have proved he was Adam but it might have proved if he wasn't. But they never even suggested it in 7 years!
Brian Wicks.
Pat thought. IIRC she couldn't say for certain but that was sho she was fairly sure it was. As a blood test or dna was never done, there's still a slight question mark over it.
What a shame it wasn't resolved.