A COUPLE's dream of having an IVF baby has moved a step closer - thanks to a TV game show and a mystery benefactor.

Stephen Davies appeared on Noel Edmonds' Deal Or No Deal programme in a bid to win enough money for his wife to undergo fertility treatment.

But he only walked away with £3,000 and the couple put their hopes on hold until they could raise the rest of the £5,000 cost of a course of treatment.

Last week, however, a kind-hearted viewer of the Channel 4 programme got in touch with TV chiefs and said he wanted to donate £9,000 to the pair. Now they have embarked on an IVF treatment programme - their fourth in four years - and have their fingers crossed that their dreams will come true.

Mr Davies, aged 38, said: "I decided to go on the show to win some money, but unfortunately it didn't go quite as well as we hoped.

"Then we got a call from the show to say someone had donated £9,000 to us because they were so touched by the story.

"The money will pay for another two treatments and we are desperately hoping it will work this time."

Mr Davies and his wife, Lynette, have been trying for a baby for four years.

The couple have had three rounds of treatment but have not managed to conceive.

They have already spent £14,000 - which they raised by not going on holiday and through the sale of Mrs Davies's Hyundai Coupe last year. But their cash ran dry, prompting Mr Davies, a director of a Floorquip Tool Hire, to sign up for the show.

Deal Or No Deal sees contestants select one box out of a possible 22 as their own. Each box is worth an amount of money, between 1p and £250,000.

Contestants then eliminate boxes held by other game show participants in the hope of being left with the one which contains £250,000. Throughout the game a banker gives the contestants offers based on the strength of the boxes left.

With five boxes to go Mr Davies had the £250,000, £100,000, £3,000, £10 and 10p on the board.

He was offered £25,000 which he turned down, but in the next round he knocked out the two big numbers, leaving him with £3,000 or £10. He played the game to the end and had £3,000 in his box.

Each IVF treatment takes about eight weeks, with the final two being an anxious wait to see if the fertilised egg has attached.

The couple's treatment has failed at the final stage each time.

Mr Davies, who lives in Inworth Close, Daisy Hill, said: "We are both healthy and there is no reason why the treatment shouldn't work.

"I can't explain what it is like when we find out it has failed, it is gut wrenching."

Mrs Davies, aged 29, who is an admin assistant at Floorquip and a part-time aerobics instructor, said: "The hormone treatment takes hold of your body and it is a stressful process. It is like being on a treadmill and never getting off.

"The doctors are doing their best and it is just up to my body. We have our fingers crossed that next time it will be successful. It means so much for us to have a baby, we have so much love to give. We feel that without children we are just plodding along."

The couple started the treatment in December, 2004, followed by more attempts in August, 2005 and May, 2006.

They have been together for six years and got married in May last year at Rivington Church.

The couple plan to continue with the treatment until it is successful or until they cannot afford any more.

They have also thought about adopting. Mrs Davies added: "We want to keep trying for our own baby while we are still young and there is a chance it will work, but we would like to adopt in the future if we can't have a baby of our own."