ITV's My Mum, Your Dad: ‘middle-aged Love Island’ is back for a second series

During the first run of My Mum, Your Dad, neither the parents nor their grown-up kids quite seemed to know what was going to happen.

The parents were told they were being watched by a team of relationship experts who would be choosing who they’d go on dates with. Little did they know it was their own children.

But now the tables have been turned. The parents now know all about what’s happening in the show and have a button which enables them to switch off transmission. While they have an element of control, their kids are left imagine what’s occurring when the live stream pauses.

The parents also now have the option of going to ‘the snug’, for some time away from their housemates.

Last year’s heartwarming and emotional first run was a massive hit with viewers and critics alike, with couples like Roger and Janey, Elliott and Sharon, and Paul and Natalie, dipping their toes into the dating pool.

Host Davina McCall thinks she know why it struck a chord with the public.

She says: “We are the first of the new generation of midlifers because we were at illegal raves taking drugs way before any of you!

“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 reached 18] you’re thinking ‘right! Let’s go again!’”

This year’s cast includes 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.

In tonight’s opener, the nervous parents are dropped off at the doors of the retreat (a Sussex mansion) by their kids, who all meet at the nearby ‘bunker’ (a plush farmhouse).

Davina asks the kids to choose who their parents will have their first date with, with promising connections made, embarrassing moments for the kids, and revealing conversations about past relationships.

The series then continues this week, with one mum revealing the reason for her marriage breakdown, and a dad causing a stir as he gets to know the mums with speed dating.

Plus, the kids choose who their parents will spend extra one-on-one time with, before they take part in a self-reflection workshop, and go on a pottery dates.

Unlike most reality/game shows on TV, there is no monetary prize on offer in My Mum, Your Dad, only their children’s blessings.

And, as we saw in the first series, there is also the opportunity for the parents (and kids) to rediscover who they are and find excitement and optimism for the future.

“We like to call it a relationship show instead of a dating show,” Davina adds.

“We’re also watching the relationships between parent and child, because obviously, the parents know that their kids are watching. It creates a really nice trust.”