Composer(s) Matthew Cracknell Original language(s) English No. of episodes 24 (list of episodes) Final episode date 22 December 2010 Number of seasons 3 Genre Reality television | Country of origin United Kingdom No. of seasons 3 First episode date 17 September 2008 Network Channel 4 Number of episodes 24 | |
Directed by Jonathan Smith
Olly Lambert Locations Canterbury, Kent (series 1) | ||
The Family is a British fly-on-the-wall documentary series that began airing 17 September 2008 and ended on 22 December 2010 on Channel 4. Each season follows a chosen family, consisting of parents and their children. The project aim was to gain a picture of everyday family life in the United Kingdom, as film-maker and director Jonathan Smith attempted to "condense four months of ordinary family life into eight films". The series is a revival of the original series of the same name that first aired in 1974.
Contents
The family dinner time channel 4
Series 1: The Hughes
Series 1 followed the lives of the Hughes family consisting of parents Simon and Jane, and their four children - Jessica (22), Emily (19), Charlotte (17), and Tom (14) who live in Harbledown, Canterbury, Kent. They had more than 20 cameras placed in their semi-detached home, capturing their every move over a period of four months and were controlled from the house next door. The Hughes family were not the original family planned to participate in the first series. They were brought in as reserves after the father of the intended family was found to be a steroid dealer and was consequently pulled from the programme.
The Hughes also have a black cat called Ziggy, who is frequently seen in the series. During filming he went missing for a few days, but later returned safe and well.
Series 2: The Grewals
Series 2 followed the lives of the Grewals, a British Indian family consisting of parents Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit, and their three children - Mandeep (33), Gurdip (32), and Tejind (23) along with Mandeep and Gurdip's spouses - Gursharonjit (24) and Jitender (36), respectively, who live in west London. The format differed slightly from the first series in that micro-interviews with family members were interspersed periodically throughout the programme, commenting about the issue in the episode.
The Grewals also have two dogs named Rusty and Dusty.
Since the series aired, Sunny and Shay have gone on to present a radio show on BBC London 94.9. and in 2011 began presenting the BBC Asian Network's Weekend Breakfast show.
Series 3: The Adesinas
Series 3 followed the lives of the Adesinas, a Nigerian British family consisting of parents Sunday and Vicky, and their four British children - Ayo (27), Julie (25), Olu (23), and Ola (15) who live in Hackney, east London.