Kate McCann sent her missing daughter a heart-rending Christmas message last night, telling her: "Be brave sweetheart. (Daily Mail Saturday 22nd December 2007)
"Our only Christmas wish is for you to be back with us again and we're hoping and praying that that will happen. Love you Madeleine."
Her face lined with exhaustion and despair, 39-year-old Mrs McCann also made an extraordinary appeal to any abductor holding the four-year-old girl, begging them to end "all this despair and anguish".
She struggled to control her emotions as she said: "You hold the key. At this time of year, when so many families are coming together, we beg you to help us be reunited with Madeleine.
"Please do the right thing and come forward."
The televised appeal came as Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry, also 39, prepared for what they called "the hardest Christmas imaginable."
The couple must try to hide their pain over Madeleine, who has now been missing for almost eight months, and make Christmas as joyful as possible for their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
