My Mum, Your Dad (ITV 1)
Davina McCall began the second series of My Mum, Your Dad (ITV1) by asking the assembled singletons: ‘Is anybody worried?’
‘Yes!’ they all chorused. Of course they did. ‘Why?’ Davina wondered.
Did she really need to ask? Who wouldn’t be worried by the awkward prospect of very public middle-age dating?
These first stumbling steps are not only being closely monitored by their children, who encouraged them to apply for this series in the first place, but there’s also the small matter of around two million viewers.
Never mind worried, the eight singles probably wished they’d applied to Bake Off instead.
Davina McCall began the second series of My Mum, Your Dad (ITV1) by asking the assembled singletons: ‘Is anybody worried?’ ‘Yes!’ they all chorused. Of course they did. ‘Why?’ Davina wondered. Did she really need to ask?
The cast of the new series of My Mum, Your Dad. Before we gossip about who will end up with who, let’s start with the serious stuff. You won’t get a much better advert for single parents than this
Before we gossip about who will end up with who, let’s start with the serious stuff. You won’t get a much better advert for single parents than this.
The contestants have all put the pain of failed relationships behind them and devoted their lives to their children. Judging by episode one, they’ve done a cracking job.
But some of the men urgently need to brush up on their dating skills. Yes, David, this means you.
We’d scarcely met the parents before the children had them divided into couples for a date night. David was paired off with Jenny, possibly because they were both black and both had a Bristol connection. David lives there, and Jenny studied there.
It started very well. David settled his date into her chair, and made sure she was comfortable. What a gentleman. But instead of bonding over Bristol and asking Jenny lots of questions, he went straight in with the dating equivalent of a high, two-footed tackle — an attack on marriage. ‘I don’t see the benefit,’ he said. Oh dear me, what a rookie error.
From then he could only look on as Jenny set what must be a new record for losing interest on a first date.
Car salesman Danny, 49, had better luck with teacher Vicky (pictured), who has an attractive Welsh accent and looks younger than her 50 years
But some of the men urgently need to brush up on their dating skills. Yes, David (pictured), this means you
Car salesman Danny, 49, had better luck with teacher Vicky, who has an attractive Welsh accent and looks younger than her 50 years. He was delighted, he said, and ‘would have chosen to have my first date with you’. Good start, and Vicky’s body language was encouraging: she turned her body towards him and hung on his every word.
But he went on to talk about himself too much. Have these chaps never been on an actual date before? He confessed that his marriage broke up when he had an affair, which showed he could talk about his emotions. But did he go too far? Especially as a trailer suggests there might be competition for Vicky in episode two tonight.
One of the joys of this show is that it’s impossible to tell who will end up with who. Just as you’re thinking that a couple look good together, the male partner will say something daft.
Drink helps to steady the nerves. ‘There’s plenty more Prosecco in the fridge,’ said Davina at one point. That’s not a bad description of middle-aged dating, is it?