Davina McCall: The hint of love is better than sexual moments on TV

Davina McCall has spoken about how her new dating show offers “the hint of love” rather than something seen before like sexual moments on TV.

My Mum, Your Dad – which McCall has described as the “midlife Love Island” – will see single parents watched on dates by their grown-up children secretly.

The children play matchmaker and have the power to decide whether their parent leaves the country house retreat in West Sussex early if they have no success at finding love.

McCall said: “For me, personally speaking, I’d rather watch the hint of love, a hint of something coming, a should I, shouldn’t I, a moment of tenderness, something amazing. That’s so exciting but like… shagging?

“It’s sort of like once you’ve seen… it doesn’t mean anything. This really f***** means something. When you see people falling (for each other) And you think ‘Oh my god’ and you know that this is serious. That’s what’s so lovely.

“But yes, there are moments where the kids have got cushions in front of their faces…  but it could be over something quite small and intimate because they’ve never seen that in a date situation.”

What sets the show apart is it is “not cynical” or about prize money, McCall also said.

She said: “I think that watching their (grown-up children having) reactions to their parents, and then supporting each other, and then willing their parents (to) find someone.

“I thought one of the most moving things was this idea that as a child, you can’t move on with your life, until you feel that your parent is happy.”

The parents – who have been nominated by their children – include a widower, a pastoral support office, a postman and a singer.

McCall also explained that one contestant had to leave in unplanned way as “talking about intimacy” triggered something “incredibly painful”.

She added: “She had to leave. She’s just terrified. You know, she’s terrified of being rejected, letting someone in, all of these things that again, I think we can all relate to at some point in our lives it’s just really scary.

“So I think when things like that do happen, they do… one second we’ve got it and then like you haven’t got it and you’re crushed.”

McCall also spoke about how the show is about the “baggage” that people who have lived longer bring to relationships.

“What makes it interesting is, does my baggage suit your baggage, or does my baggage clash with your baggage and is our baggage terrible?,” she said.

The show follows a similar American show called My Mom, Your Dad which was hosted by Insecure actress Yvonne Orji.

It was created by Greg Daniels – who worked on comedy shows The Office, Parks And Recreation and Upload – and his daughter Haley Daniels.

My Mum, Your Dad starts September 11 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. The series will run on consecutive weeknights for two weeks.