1-across – They come with help – that’s the best bit – but ease off : TESTTUBEBABIES

9-across – Oriental feast attended by new queen : EASTERNER

10-across – Red Robin’s commercial tune : ADAIR

11-across – Jeremy’s chains : IRONS

12-across – Relating to story of terrible accident without oxygen : ANECDOTIC

13-across – A number of golds for a like number in the band : TENORSAX

14-across – Beginning and end of months, not the end for most solvers : EMBRYO

17-across – Musical 5 a cipher, say? : FIGARO

19-across – See 22 : ANDSIDES

22-across – Military 5’s work sees Clare returned with Sidney in range : SHORTBACK

24-across – Fine beast losing tail gets caught : MULCT

25-across – One of our 20 shows what to do with virgin soil : DIGIT

26-across – Lib Dem peer with Tory colour : STEELBLUE

27-across – Sodium and thulium includes sodium in opera and song : NATIONALANTHEM

1-down – Branch of tree with flower surrounding hideout for county : THEDISTAFFSIDE

2-down – 5 shortly taking in fool : SASSOON

3-down – Time to bring up covering for certain person of account : TREASURER

4-down – Mad about diamonds and squares : BANDANAS

5-down – Top worker with musical shop … : BARBER

6-down – … originally attending to beast, died : BEARD

7-down – Old player that takes penalties? : EXACTOR

8-down – Chinese lady of the Golden River supplies sour spermaceti : PRECIOUSSTREAM

15-down – Kummel’s no different from honeydew : MUSKMELON

16-down – Look left to take in almost nude and very wriggly creature : SNAKEEEL

18-down – Land of courage or giant-killing : GEORGIA

20-down – 21’s 5 who treated head ill : DELILAH

21-down – This strong man at first must drop 11 old pence if wanting fruit : SAMSON

23-down – Everyone expressing a lot of mild disapproval : TUTTI

7-across – Forlorn hero disheartened, hero of 22 across starts to sniff, saddened : HOPELESS

9-across – Athletic woman, longdistance runner in 22 across : AMAZON

10-across – Most endangered : RAIN

11-across – In a bit of US dough, US composer finds carrots? : INCENTIVES

12-across – Ton of money to pay, a lot of it in 22 across : COFFEE

14-across – Russian in retreat given opening, direct : NAVIGATE

15-across – Pressure shown by Posh enrobed? : DURESS

17-across – One of the 24 across, where a fruit less English died : ALMOND

20-across – A little flower among politically bluebells : CARILLON

22-across – Country finding extreme characters in pad – look away! : BRAZIL

23-across – Seize a vehicle with an automatic starter in district of 22 across : COPACABANA

24-across – These from 22 across, or bananas? : NUTS

25-across – City in 22 across thus following a piece of opera : ARIOSO

26-across – City in 22 across, while revolutionary, running rings round this writer : SAOPAULO

1-down – Christian article cut up, film sheet : POLAROID

2-down – Film director’s thin : LEAN

3-down – Fierce barking which is in 22 across : RECIFE

4-down – Party of 22 across, perhaps, sensual, with a couple of couples entwined : CARNIVAL

5-down – Person holding a card’s a cleaner : BAKINGSODA

6-down – See 10 : FOREST

8-down – Flashback : SECOND

13-down – Supporting actor in Naughty, Naughty Lover : FORNICATOR

16-down – Vegetarian’s first into his food, or city in 22 across : SALVADOR

18-down – Battered tin scoffed by cleaner in charming manner : DAINTILY

19-down – Records girl likes, not including Turner : ANNALS

21-down – A poet embracing love, ready to sail : ABOARD

22-down – Take to crime, seeing the light : BEACON

24-down – Bread to pass up and down : NAAN

1-across – Figure as doctor to the sick swallowing a sad tear : QUADRILATERAL

10-across – Trees dangerous in army home : ALDERSHOT

11-across – Good notes on piano : PIOUS

12-across – See 20 down : CASES

13-across – Figure reportedly of destruction and confusion : RECTANGLE

14-across – Treason exposed in the direction of Tyneside? : NOREAST

16-across – Figure or letter : RHOMBUS

18-across – They go out in the midday sun – go on to say when cats are about : MADDOGS

20-across – Professional criminal causing society a lot of wild emotionalism : SHYSTER

21-across – Bourgeois individual to get back to : SQUAREONE

23-across – What are reptiles doing on the native American page? : CREEP

24-across – Provide point for joke : EQUIP

25-across – Dish topped continent’s spot : FRICASSEE

26-across – Standard entirely of wood covering old Greek ship’s returning figure : PARALLELOGRAM

2-down – Sculptor of nude was the father that one didn’t want : UNDESIRED

3-down – Board game turning up a fiddle : DARTS

4-down – Take from past success, holding monarch in at first : INHERIT

5-down – Motor from Dolgellau to Cardiff : AUTOCAR

6-down – Making atonement for a Conservative – that’s raised about 10p to begin with : EXPIATORY

7-down – In the middle of a day, the end of a morning : AMONG

8-down – Magnetic darns enable one to provide polish on floor : DANCINGMASTER

9-down – Menace to company or group captured by silly excursionist : ASSETSTRIPPER

15-down – An explosion has nearly concealed call for location of Susannah : APOCRYPHA

17-down – Strike water beside the Thames : BATTERSEA

19-down – Total of items for sale incomplete – should include pianoforte : SHOPFUL

20-down – Pass ecclesia to make such as 26 of 1, 13 or 16 of 26, or 21 – 1 of 13 or 16 : SPECIAL

22-down – One of you left grape outside – it’s in the mouth : UVULA

23-down – Sound of a Neolithic language : CLANG

8-across – : NIHILIST

9-across – : UBOAT

10-across – : GANG

11-across – : HERBROBERT

12-across – : KEEPER

14-across – : TRIMETER

15-across – : RESTDAY

17-across – : JELLYBY

20-across – : ZYGOMATA

22-across – : FATHER

23-across – : XPARTICLES

24-across – : VOCE

25-across – : ELMEN

26-across – : OVERVIEW

1-down – : MILANESE

2-down – : LING

3-down – : CIPHER

4-down – : ITERATE

5-down – : QUARTILE

6-down – : DOUBLEFLAT

7-down – : STARVE

13-down – : PETRODROME

16-down – : ARABIANS

18-down – : BREECHES

19-down – : WALLOON

21-down – : YIPPEE

22-down – : FOSTER

24-down – : VIVA

9-across – A doctor is on team to dissect : ANATOMISE

10-across – Range put on page for show : PROVE

11-across – Wanted to take action about teacher : DESIRED

12-across – Regarding old writer that is blue, end chewed off : SCRIBAL

13-across – Grass recovered, seizing drug, certainly! : YEAH

14-across – Pensioner’s bedside companion half unsure about support put in place : FALSETEETH

16-across – Their business tracks river birds : DEEJAYS

17-across – Weapon required to retrieve a disaster for US TV ratings? : HARPOON

19-across – Companion dressed in fragrant black and white : ACHROMATIC

22-across – A former railway charity : ALMS

24-across – A beast swallowing rivervessel : AMPOULE

25-across – Heading for launch, approaching 1, deafening, having held to this moment? : LIFTOFF

26-across – Plain sweet containing last of butter : DREAR

27-across – As Mafia victims might be buried, left interred – that’s rough : INCLEMENT

1-down – Up and down days plus a year, plus a … and so on : YADDAYADDAYADDA

2-down – Looking from below, ‘e catches sailor delivering poison : RATSBANE

3-down – See 7 : BOARD

4-down – A breeze, perhaps, with girl lifting device : WINDLASS

5-down – Three seconds with pie and mash to find presence of bacteria : SEPSIS

6-down – Find this after a blowout, extra fat! : SPARETYRE

7-down – Remark about s-s-snake inspiring foreign article in The Thunderer? : WOBBLE

8-down – Might such guidelines comfort worker in the conclusion of nanny state? F-farcical! : HEALTHANDSAFETY

15-down – See 17 : MANOEUVRE

17-down – Tactic designed to remove lodger from home, I reveal, in much disarray : HEIMLICH

18-down – Witness, occupying throne, king and queen : ONLOOKER

20-down – Tailless beast outside pub, one in Glyn-Neath : HYPHEN

21-down – Mention US state uprising, as kind of acid : ACETIC

23-down – Present more rotten, might you say? : OFFER