london • The parents of Madeleine McCann are preparing a fresh legal attempt to have their status as formal suspects in the disappearance of their daughter lifted and hope to clear their names before Christmas.

Kate and Gerry McCann — who nearly four weeks ago were made arguidos, or official suspects, in Madeleine's disappearance — have instructed their lawyers to "explore every avenue" to have the status lifted, a friend said yesterday.

The move comes as it emerged that the couple are hoping to mark a new advertising campaign for the search for Madeleine, who has been missing for nearly five months, with an appearance on Portuguese television.

Family members have also contacted a psychic for help in locating the child.

The McCanns have engaged Rogerio Alves, president of the Portuguese Bar Association, to prepare a defence against allegations that they accidentally killed Madeleine and disposed of her body. A source close to the legal team said that Alves and the McCanns' British lawyers, Michael Caplan, QC, and Angus McBride, were trying desperately to expedite the legal process, which has the potential to last up to a year.

"They hope to have this ridiculous situation sorted out long before Christmas," the source said. "It could be a quiet word in an ear; at higher levels it could be a direct approach to the judge or prosecutors saying, 'This is the case as it looks from our point of view, we would urge you not to go any further'.

"It could be a formal presentation of a file of information. The mechanics of that are down to the lawyers. They are working very hard, both here and in Portugal, and will be making representations at every opportunity to get this ridiculous situation sorted."

Under Portuguese judicial secrecy laws the McCanns are forbidden from talking about the case, but they hope to get clearance from their lawyers to make the televised appeal for the search for the four-year-old to continue.

The new poster and television campaign will be completed within the next ten days and will include Arabic adverts in Morocco, where several alleged sightings of Madeleine have been reported. The family is also in discussion with Spanish and Portuguese supermarket chains with a view to displaying Madeleine's image on shopping trolleys.

Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, said: "The key to this is getting the message out into the homes, the tiny places where they don't see the wider media. We need to get to the village in the hills where they've never seen a television."

Friends said that the McCann family are now so desperate for information about their daughter's whereabouts that they are considering employing a psychic. The McCanns have already consulted a book by Gordon Smith, who claims to be Britain's "most accurate medium", and are being urged by other members of the family to seek his views directly.