My Mum, Your Dad

Did You Know?

• The line-up of parents and children for series 1 was announced on 4 September 2023.
• In series 2, the parents were aware that they were being watched by their children, and Paul Edwards returned from the first series.

Production

In early 2023, ITV was reportedly planning a new dating show, initially called The Romance Retreat, which was pitched as a Love Island-style series for single parents in midlife. Davina McCall was confirmed as the host in March of that year, saying she had essentially wished the show into being by pleading with network executives to let her present it, and that she had willed an exciting dating program for older adults into existence. She described the participants as people who have lived full lives, carry emotional baggage, but still deserve love. By June 2023, the series had been officially named My Mum, Your Dad. The format was invented by a father-daughter team, Greg and Haley Daniels, and had already aired in the United States on HBO Max in January 2022, with France and Germany also making their own versions. The British edition is produced by Lifted Entertainment. Paul Mortimer, ITV’s director of Reality and Acquisitions, said the show would follow the heartfelt and uplifting journeys of single parents seeking love again. The first trailer was shown on July 31, 2023, during the finale of Love Island’s tenth season. ITV put the series on hold in January 2025, though it might return later. The retreat itself is Viola House, located in the West Sussex village of Stedham, sitting on 45 acres inside the South Downs National Park. The property includes a reception hall, five reception rooms, a main kitchen and a secondary kitchen, a utility room, a cellar, a leisure complex with an indoor swimming pool, a master suite with its own dressing room and bathroom, eight more bedrooms, six additional bathrooms or shower rooms (two of which are en-suite), garaging, a workshop, equestrian facilities, and a tennis court. Music is a standout feature of the show; the first season’s playlist included songs like Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police, Higher Love by Steve Winwood, Hot Stuff by Donna Summer, How Will I Know by Whitney Houston, Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon, and You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates.

Reception

Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph described the contestants as "attractive" and "well-turned out", noting that Davina McCall brought "exactly the right level of warmth and enthusiasm." Fiona Sturges of The Independent felt the producers had "mistaken the middle-aged contestants for helpless geriatrics who can no longer be trusted to boil a kettle." Lucy Mangan of The Guardian called the series "hilarious" and "excruciating", adding that unlike typical Love Island contestants, these people have "real stories, real baggage and... real emotions." Carol Midgley of The Times criticised the focus on children's opinions, saying she would "sooner eat my own liver than have my children spying on my pitiful attempts at flirting", but praised the contestants' "endearing vulnerability" as a saving grace.