Love Island fans, there’s a new dating show on the scene! ITV and Davina McCall’s new dating show, My Mum, Your Dad is officially in full swing – and viewers are loving it.
The show, previously called The Romance Retreat, follows a group of single parents who are looking for a second chance at love. It's nerve-wracking, heart-warming and everyone's talking about it.
The show started on Monday 11 September and is on every evening at 9pm for two weeks.
Opening up about the show – of which a similar format already exists in Australia – Davina commented ‘Thank Goodness the secret is out! I’ve been bursting to tell!!! I’m so so excited to host My Mum, Your Dad – this show will have you so invested in the people in it.’
‘Fascinating, vibrant individuals who have lived incredible lives already, with a million life lessons under their belts, as they search for their perfect life partner. But also with the juiciest twist of any show I’ve ever worked on.’
And Lifted Entertainment’s Richard Cowles – who produce ITV’s other hit show, Love Island – said ‘At Lifted, we revolutionised the dating format with Love Island, but dating isn’t just about young people.’
Reflecting on the ‘very different cast of singles,’ he added ‘they may come from a different age bracket but they share the same, simple aim, to fall in love. And for single parents, the stakes are even higher.’
And fans were just as excited for it to air as those working on the show...
One Twitter user wrote, ‘This could be quite entertaining with the grown-up kids at the wheel! They know their parents better than anyone,' as another agreed, ‘great to get focus on older people on a reality dating show for a change.'
And praising Davina – who first brought up the idea of the show during a podcast appearance on Diary of a CEO – one wrote, ‘She’s loved this idea for a long time. A programme she genuinely believes in.’
How does the show work?
Spanning 10 episodes, we get to watch single parents from across the UK as they live together in a gorgeous country house retreat. Getting to know each other, the objective is to find true love – but there’s a twist! Unbeknownst to the parents, their children will be watching their every move from a nearby location called ‘The Bunker’. It’s Love Island meets Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.
Once in the bunker, contestants’ fate is in their children’s hands, as they select who to match on one-to-one dates. After all, they are picking someone who might be joining their Christmas celebrations for years to come…
Will there be a prize?
It’s not known whether the show will follow the same format as Love Island and include a cash prize. Perhaps the prize will simply be true love!
How can I apply?
Unlike Love Island, this isn’t a show that you can apply to yourself. All contestants were nominated by their adult children, who are watching on and meddling from the My Mum, Your Dad surveillance room.
Given that the children appear on the show, it seems an age limit has been applied when it comes to those that do the nominating – with one hopeful writing ‘I so wanted to apply for this but my son was too young to nominate me.’
How can I watch the show?
Departing from Love Island’s home on ITV2, the show airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
When will the show be on?
It's on right now! We suggest you catch up on ITVX as soon as you can.