My Mum, Your Dad: Meet the contestants of Davina McCall's new ITV dating show

It’s not just bikini-and-muscle-clad youngsters who are looking for love; parents and older folks are longing for romance too and ITV’s new reality show My Mum, Your Dad is hoping to help them find it.

Billed by many as a ‘middle aged’ take on the hugely popular Love Island format, this new ITV1 and ITVX series is hoping to be just as popular with parents as the villa is with Gen Z.

What’s it all about, what will it involve and when can you see — and more importantly — post about it on social media?

Read on for everything we know so far about My Mum, Your Dad…

My Mum, Your Dad start date

My Mum, Your Dad is set to hit ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, 11 September at 9pm.

International versions of the dating show have already aired in Australia and Sweden, while French and German versions are also in the pipeline too.

My Mum, Your Dad trailer

The first trailer for the new Davina McCall dating show was shared by ITV during the finale of Love Island 2023, and it looks like it's going to be a heart-warming show.

A second trailer was launched when the show's start date was revealed.

My Mum, Your Dad contestants

Monique, 50, was nominated to take part in My Mum, Your Dad by daughter Taiya. "She's put everything aside to raise me and my sister for so many years, so I thought now is my mum's time," she told ITV.

Caroline, 51, is taking part in the show thanks to daughter Karli who feels her mum has struggled with men in the past as she's "a bad judge of character."

All the guys she's been with before have been liars and cheats! She doesn't get out much either," Karli told ITV.

Roger, 58, is on the show after being widowed 18 months ago, and while he says he's not looking to meet anyone, he'd like to regain some confidence. Daughter Jessica said: "It was a joint thing with my brother and sister and it was our way of basically telling him that we were happy for him to start dating, if that was something he wanted to do."

Sharon, 53, says she was shocked by her daughter Tia's decision to nominate her for the dating show. She said she felt it was "finally her time to be happy".

Clayton, 57, is on the show after his son Christian put him up to it. "He'd like to see me settled with someone I could have a future with, said Clayton. "He's probably thinking, 'Dad's been on his own for the last year and a half,' and he wants to re-light that fire."

Janey, 47, was nominated by her son William. She thinks it's because "he's lost all hope for me, he thinks I'm undateable! He wants me to meet someone."

Football coach Elliot, 53, was put in for the show by son Zachary. "He deserves the opportunity to find the 'end stages' of love," the son told ITV.

Natalie, 44, is taking part in the dating show after her son Kaliel put her up to it. Natalie said: "I've been on my own for a long time. I think he thinks it's my time for me now.

Paul, 47, has been nominated for My Mum, Your Dad by daughter Mazey. Mazey told ITV: "He's gone for people who are at different life stages, a few years younger, they were just at completely different places and their lives weren't matching up."

What happens on My Mum, Your Dad?

Concept-wise, My Mum, Your Dad is relatively straightforward and set to be similar in tone to many of the relationship-based reality shows that we’re all familiar with.

Through 10, hour-long episodes, viewers will meet a range of single parents who have been nominated by their adult kids to visit a country house retreat in an attempt to find love.

Parent contestants will come from a range of backgrounds and live together at the location for the duration of the show, providing a rural flip on the sun-kissed Love Island format.

It wouldn’t be a reality show without a twist though and in My Mum, Your Dad, that involves their kids.

Read more: All the Love Island winning couples so far

Unbeknownst to participating parents, the very youngsters who nominated them for the show will be watching their every move from a secret nearby location known as ‘The Bunker.’ Here, they’ll be able to play matchmaker, decide who they get to go on romantic one-to-one dates with and watch what they get up to from afar.

If you ignore the high chance of accidentally watching your own parents getting it on, ITV hopes that this situation will offer heartwarming viewing and the chance for the participants’ kids to see their parents in a whole new light.

The show’s family-based concept goes right to its core too, with My Mum, Your Dad created by father-daughter duo Haley and Greg Daniels.

Who is hosting My Mum, Your Dad?

My Mum, Your Dad has recruited expert telly host Davina McCall to guide viewers through this inter-generational quest for love. Having fronted some of the most iconic reality TV series of recent years — including the original run of Channel 4 mega-hit Big Brother — audiences are in safe hands under McCall’s watch.

“I’m so so excited to host My Mum, Your Dad - this show will have you so invested in the people in it,” McCall said in a press release announcing the show.

“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.”

Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, McCall explained a little more about the show's core concept, 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.”

My Mum, Your Dad will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Monday, 11 September at 9pm.