My Mum, Your Dad: ITV dating show opens up conversations about grief

New dating show My Mum, Your Dad is about people nominating their single parents for dates

You'd be forgiven for rolling your eyes at the mention of yet another dating reality show all over social media.

The latest one to hit our screens has decided it's about time someone other than 20-something social media influencers have all the fun.

Billed as the "middle-aged Love Island", My Mum, Your Dad sees eight single parents look for love in a country house.

But, and here's the twist, unknown to them their adult children are watching their every move and playing Cupid from a nearby hideaway.

The launch episode drew 1.5 million viewers, the same as this summer's Love Island final, and the show's been praised by some critics for being as funny as it is cringe.

But it's also opened up conversations about how to deal with your mum or dad moving on and dating again after you've lost a parent.

One of the early stars has been Roger, 59, who had viewers in floods of tears as he opened up about the death of his late wife Joanne.

Even his date was crying as he told her how 52-year-old Joanne died of cancer 18 months ago when she fell asleep on the sofa and never woke up.

Jess says it's been emotional watching the show back and seeing her dad Roger "come into his own"

Roger's daughter Jess is part of the show, watching him in the secret bunker, so BBC Newsbeat asked her why they put him forward for the show.

"Our main motivation for nominating him was just seeing how much he was struggling to cope with the grief," the 29-year-old says.

"Don't get me wrong we're all still struggling, that's never going to go away. But it was just something that we could see that we were sort of losing our dad.

"He wasn't the same person, he was just really struggling with day to day life.

"So he'd be coming home to an empty house every day, he'd be waking up in the morning to an empty house."

'It was a bit difficult'

Jess, who lives in Derbyshire, says Roger's three children just want "to let him know that we're OK with him trying to be happy again".

She obviously can't give away any spoilers but says they wanted to find their dad someone "with a sense of humour and just kind and loving".

"It's been nice to see him sort of come into his own," she says.

"Dad's just got a lot of love to give so that was why he was a little bit lost with nowhere to place that.

"So someone who is going to accept that it's probably not going to be an easy ride. He's still got a lot of grieving to do."

Angharad says her mum Andrea respects that she doesn't want to be parented by her new partner

Someone who knows what it's like to see a parent deal with looking for love again is 20-year-old Angharad Dale.

She lost her dad Tim to a sudden heart attack about five years ago and says it was important her mum Andrea was honest with her from the beginning.

"When my mum did start dating again she used dating apps, we had a lot of quite open conversations about both of our expectations from it," she tells Newsbeat.

"It was quite a worry to start with, that a new partner would try and replace my dad, which I think is a worry with most young people who've lost a parent.

"So I set an expectation very early on that I didn't want to be parented by this new partner.

"And that has been something that's been respected the entire time."

• Love Island All Stars series confirmed for 2024

• Why are we so in love with TV dating shows?

• The side-effect of Love Island's social media ban

Abbie Jelfs was only six when her dad Andrew died of adrenal cancer in 2012.

She's now 17 and says she can relate to what the people on My Mum, Your Dad will be experiencing as they watch their parents dating.

"I only really started thinking about it when my mum Colette did start dating again," she says.

"But it was really nice because I did see a happiness in her that I hadn't seen since my dad was alive."

But Abbie, who lives near Birmingham, admits it wasn't easy at first.

"For me it was a bit difficult and I have siblings as well so it was difficult for all of us.

"But my stepdad's wife also died, so days like Father's and Mother's Day we all understand what we're all going through."

Abbie was just six years old when her dad Andrew died of adrenal cancer

Angharad and Abbie also have some advice for anyone watching the dating show who might be going through a similar situation.

"Allow yourself time. You're allowed to be upset and to be happy," says Angharad, who lives in Oxford.

"And you're allowed to go through all the different emotions while you're grieving.

"Especially when there are changes in relationships, you don't know how those things are going to hit you."

Abbie agrees, and thinks "it never fully overall gets easier, it just becomes more easier to cope with".

"There'll obviously be struggles and stuff, but it's almost easier to manage once you've gone through that," she says.

"I feel you just need that bit of time to understand you do have to live on and try to live your life without them, while also remembering them."

Follow Newsbeat on Twitter and YouTube.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.