The Family is a British fly-on-the-walldocumentary series that aired from 17 September 2008 to 22 December 2010 on Channel 4. Each series 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.
The Families
Series 1: The Hughes
Series 1 followed the lives of the Hughes family consisting of parents Simon and Jane, and their four children - Jessica, Emily, Charlotte, and Tom 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.
Simon Hughes describes his role in the family as "cook, taxi, painter and decorator, encourager, the default person to ask anything, provider, giver of cuddles, and the one who has to pretend to be in charge".
Jane Hughes is a Charity worker and has been married to Simon for 22 years. She defines her responsibilities as "peacekeeper, general dogsbody and keeper of all knowledge of where people have to be and where their belongings are".
Jessica Hughes is the eldest daughter and lives nearby with her fiancé Pat and their 10-month-old daughter, Ruby. Jessica is a stay-at-home mum, but a regular visitor to the Hughes household and describes the family as "loving, loud and food obsessed". Jessica and Pat get married at the end of the first series.
Emily Hughes is the second daughter of Simon and Jane and sees herself as the headstrong, rebellious, trouble-making party animal of the clan. She works as a shop assistant.
Charlotte Hughes is still at school and was once the district shot-put champion for the under 14 girls. She describes her role as "someone to lighten the mood" and says it’s never boring with a big family.
Tom Hughes is the baby of the family. He's a typical teenager whose hobbies are BMX'ing, skateboarding and reading comic books. He says his biggest role model is Batman.
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 followed the lives of the Grewals, a British Indian family consisting of parents Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit, and their three children - Mandeep, Gurdip, and Tejind along with Mandeep and Gurdip's spouses - Gursharonjit and Jitender, 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.
Arvinderjeet Grewal is the father of the household and is married to Sarbjit.
Sarbjit Grewal is the mother of the household and is married to Arvinderjeet.
Mandeep Grewal is the eldest son of Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit and is married to Shay.
Gursharonjit Grewal is married to Sunny and is Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit's daughter-in-law.
Gurdip is the middle child and daughter of Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit. She is married to Jeet and gave birth to her and Jeet's second child during the Series 2.
Jitender is married to Kaki and is Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit's son-in-law.
Tejind Grewal is the youngest son of Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit.
Bhavika is the granddaughter of Arvinderjeet and Sarbjit and is the first daughter of Jeet and Kaki.
Series 3 followed the lives of the Adesinas, a Nigerian British family consisting of parents Sunday and Vicky, and their four British children - Ayo, Julie, Olu, and Ola who live in Hackney, east London.
Sunday Adesina is the Nigerian born father of the Adesina household and sees himself as the provider for his family. He now runs a restaurant and take-away in east London.
Vicky Adesina is the Nigerian born mother of the Adesina household and describes her family as 'her life' and is happiest when they are all together. She currently works at the family restaurant.
Ayo Adesina is the eldest son of Sonny and Vicky. He lives at home with his parents and has started his own business as a freelance web designer. Ayo's passion is rapping and would love to release a UK rap album.
Julie Adesina is the eldest daughter of Sonny and Vicky. Julie had recently moved back home after living away for six years, which included a stint at University. Will Smith is her role model.
Olu Adesina is the youngest son of Sonny and Vicky. Olu manages one of the family's restaurants.
Ola Adesina is the youngest daughter of Sonny and Vicky. She admires American singer and actress Jennifer Hudson. Ola is scared of snakes, rats and cats.
