ITV’s new spin on Love Island, My Mum, Your Dad, will be focusing on finding love for middle-aged parents.
But the show will feature a twist: the children who nominated their parents as contestants will be watching the show unfold nearby and will even get a chance to act as matchmaker.
The format has already been done in the US and in Australia. In fact, it isn't original to ITV and was actually created by US screenwriter and television producer Greg Daniels and his daughter, Haley.
The broadcaster previously said: “ITV1 are looking for vibrant single parents from across the UK who are in search of love, for a brand new dating show!
“This is the ONLY dating show where single parents can search for love, by spending time in a luxury retreat, where all the parents have been nominated by their grown-up children.”
Paul Mortimer, who heads up reality TV at ITV, says the team is “really excited to be bringing this brand new format to ITV1’s mainstream audience”.
“My Mum, Your Dad is set to be a relationship show with a difference, as we follow the emotional and inspiring journeys of single parents looking to find love once more,” he added.
“With Davina at the helm, this will be a grown-up iteration of a series in the dating genre that, thus far, has largely been the preserve of younger viewers.”
The show will be produced for ITV by the same media production company responsible for the success of Love Island, Lifted Entertainment.
Richard Cowles, the company director, added that he wants to remind viewers that “dating isn’t just about young people”.
“We can't wait to launch this new dating format in the UK, this time with a very different cast of singles,” said Cowles.
“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. We're delighted to have Davina at the helm teasing out these hugely relatable stories in a heart-warming and entertaining way.”
When will My Mum, Your Dad air?
Since the deadline for the application was the end of March, it is expected to be released in early autumn.
Who will host My Mum, Your Dad?
My Mum, Your Dad will be hosted by TV legend Davina McCall, who teased the idea of the show on The Diary of a CEO podcast.
Talking on the podcast to host Stephen Bartlett, she said she had pitched “middle-aged” Love Island to ITV bosses, saying: “I could fill a villa in Love Island with middle-aged people with the best back stories you have ever heard in your life.
“They’ve lived a life — they’re widows, they’re people who have been through horrific divorces. They are people who have split up with somebody and decided they want to try going out with somebody the same sex as them. They’re like interesting people. I’d watch that show.”
They “might consider [her]” for something “quite similar”, she was later told by ITV.
