The butterflies are back, as another gaggle of single parents escape to the countryside for the My Mum, Your Dad retreat. Placing their dating lives in their children’s hands, they hope to find another chance at love, and according to host Davina McCall – who has been dating hairdresser Michael Douglas, since 2019 – we’re in for plenty of laughs and even more tears. With the series returning this month, the TV star, 56, tells heat what went down…
What do you love most about the show?
One minute you’re laughing, and then the kids say something, and you go, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to cry.’ It’s very moving. I keep saying that we should do the retreat as a commercial venture, because it’s such a brilliant place. People do so much work on themselves in there. It’s lovely.
Will there be some funny moments?
One of the kids was begging me to stop their mum talking about sex. I’m going, ‘I can’t do that, it’s who your mum is!’ I think our age group is the first of a new generation of mid-lifers. We’re the people who were at illegal raves and doing drugs before anyone else! We were naughty, fun, outrageous, and then we had kids and settled down. Now, it’s like having a second chance at life. We’re still exactly the same, just slightly saggier.
Do the kids find some bits cringey?
The cringe is obviously the intimacy. Seeing kids die of embarrassment as their parents do something frisky is really funny, it never gets boring! But if you don’t kiss someone, how are you going to know if you’ll get the fire in your pants? They’ve got to try it.
Can we expect to see some smooches?
This year, we have a snug where the adults can go for a moment alone, and they have a switch to cut the connection to the bunker. The kids will be watching them in the snug, and then their parents cut the connection and they all go, ‘What? What’s happening!?’
Will there be another Roger and Janey success story this year?
Before every series, I look at all the people going into the retreat – where they’re from, their interests, their past – and I pair up all the names. I was wrong about every single couple this series. There’s a lot of connecting happening – people who fancy the same person, or who change their mind. We like to call it a relationship show rather than a dating show, because it’s multi-layered. We do find deep connections, but it’s also about watching the relationship between parent and child. The parents know their kids are watching this time, so it creates a kind of trust.
Are friendships formed, too?
There are bromances, and there’s also a girl code moment where one of them is like, ‘I really like him, but I know you do, too.’ That’s a very modern thing. You don’t want to cause a stir, but you’ve only got two weeks to form a connection. There’s a time bomb element to it.
Do the contestants learn a lot about themselves?
Everything is put under a magnifying glass in the retreat. Everything is laid bare, and it’s a very healing experience. I rather admire [one contestant] Danny. Danny had a fling that ended his marriage, and he came into the retreat full of regret and guilt. It’s a topic that’s so interesting to cover, because Danny is a good man. He did something stupid, but he’s not an evil person.
Now you’re a dating expert, what’s your top tip for finding love?
I quite like the fact that I’ve done two series and now I’m an expert! [Laughs.] I think the biggest tip is that you can have a type, but don’t let that be the be all and end all. Personality, sense of humour, beliefs – those things are important. This is why dating apps are so funny, because you’re going on looks – and looks are nothing! Looks are lust, but a connection is getting to know someone, good and bad.
My Mum, Your Dad returns this September on ITV1, ITVX and STV