The end of summer brings plenty of things for us to look forward to, from longer nights cosied up on the sofa, to a selection of reality TV shows to keep us entertained, including ITV's hit dating show My Mum, Your Dad.
Hosted by Davina McCall, single parents in their forties and fifties are nominated by their grownup kids to head into a house to live with other singletons, in the hopes that they will find love. However, their children are watching from the 'Bunker' and can make decisions which could alter their time on the show.
In a Q&A with ITV, Davina told us and other press why she thinks the show works so well: "This is one of the funny things about being a mid-lifer now because our age group now, we are the first of a new generation of mid-lifers. We are the people that were at the raves, we were at illegal raves, taking drugs, and basically, it means that we're pioneers. We were naughty. We were fun. We were outrageous... and then we had kids.
"We settled down. We were good people for 18 years, and then [when your kids reach 18] you're thinking, ‘Right! Let's go again! It's like having a second chance at life but here we are making their children watch their second chance at life."
My Mum, Your Dad series 2 cast
The parents and kids joining the My Mum, Your Dad cast are as follows:
• Christian and his son Lucas
• David and his daughter Tiana
• Maria and her daughter Livia
• Andy and his daughter Issy
• Clare and her daughter Aimee
• Vicky and her daughter Angharad
• Jenny and her son Malachi
• Danny and his son Ellis
What's new for series 2?
Unlike series one, the parents know that their children are watching them as they interact with potential suitors and go on dates. However, this season includes a snug - a place where the parents can go to be intimate or have private conversations away from prying eyes.
"There's a snug, and basically the adults, well, we call them adults; people like me can go into the snug and have a moment together on their own..." says Davina.
But there's also a cut-off switch where you can cut off a connection to the bunker. So, the kids will be watching them in the Snug and then it goes dead."
Where is My Mum, Your Dad filmed?
The first series was filmed in Midhurst, West Sussex, in a countryside Manor House. The mansion is said to sit on 45 acres of land and it has two swimming pools, a tennis court, gym, spa, sauna and hot tub.
My Mum, Your Dad series 1 cast
The first series of My Mum Your Dad included:
• Roger Hawes and his daughter Jessica Hawes-Brown
• Elliott Davidson and his son Zachary Davidson
• Sharon Benson and her daughter Tia Zanetti
• Monique Payneeandy and her daughter Taiya Payneeandy
• Natalie Russell and her son Kaliel Russell
• Paul Edwards and his daughter Mazey Edwards
• Janey Smith and her son William Lancaster
• Martin Henlan and his daughter Jessica Henlan
• Caroline McGirr and her daughter Karli MacCallum
• Clayton Byfield and his son Christian Byfield
• Martin Makepeace and his son Luke Makepeace
My Mum, Your Dad UK: Who is still together?
Thanks to the openness of the contestants and their children, viewers instantly took the show into their hearts and many fans have taken to social media to ask for a reunion show.
If you want to know how the couple from series one are getting on now, here's your My Mum: Your Dad update:
Roger and Janey
Viewers particularly felt for dad Roger, who was nominated by his daughter Jess, after the sad passing of his wife in 2022. Roger was apprehensive about joining the show, and initially had a date with Caroline, however, it was the arrival of bombshell Janey that got him to open up and the pair connected. Jess and Janey's son Will were initially worried about the pairing, wondering if it was too soon for Roger to be dating, but the pair put these reservations to bed after spending time with their parents on the final episode.
Since the show finished in 2023, the couple seem to have gone from strength to strength and are still enjoying life together now. The pair even appeared on Loose Women to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
Sharon and Elliott
Sunderland lass Sharon (who was nominated by her daughter Tia) and Essex lad Elliott (nominated by son Zachary) caught each other's eye, but Sharon struggled to open up after being cheated on in past relationships and they were apprehensive about a long distance relationship. It may have been a slow burn but the couple seemed to go from strength to strength and after the show finished, they shared photos of them together on Instagram and even mentioned about moving in together.
However, the couple sadly parted ways in November 2023. In a comment on her Instagram, she said: "I was closed off to finding love as I’d been hurt in the past…. So yes I was extremely hopeful and sad when things didn’t work out between Elliott and I, I most definitely would love the happy ever after, to have the rest of my days with my soul mate."
Paul and Natalie
Natalie was put forward to join the show by her son Kaliel and partnered with Paul, who was put forward by his daughter Mazey. The pair were instantly attracted to each other and shared the fist kiss of the show. They used the rest of the show to get to know each other and in one of their final dates, Natalie opened up about her past addictions and troubles.
They met each other's kids in the last episode and vowed that they wanted to make the relationship work outside of the retreat, but the day after the episode aired, they released joint statements on Instagram to break the news that they were no longer together.
Monique and Martin M
Things started slow for Monique, who admitted to the show's therapist that she wasn't attracted to any of the men on the show. That was until late arrivals Martin H (signed up for the show by his daughter Jess) and Martin M (signed up by his son Luke) entered the house. She went on dates with both of them and was even caught in a love square alongside fellow contestant Tollulah.
Eventually Martin M chose Monique and in their final date, Monique said she would even be happy to move to Ibiza where Martin lives. But, things abruptly ended between the pair in the finale, when Monique called it quits after her daughter Taiya told her that she wasn't sure of Martin M's true intentions.
When is My Mum, Your Dad series 2 on?
My Mum, Your Dad will return to ITV on 16th September 2024!
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.