All language subtitles for Strangers.Making.Babies.S01E01.720p.HDTV.x264-DARKFLiX

This programme contains strong
language from the outset.

You can't go on a date and go,
"So, when do you want children?"

It's against the "rules" of dating.

Hello. Hello. How are you doing?

This, you can break all those rules.

Human beings have been
making babies forever.

Nice to meet you.

But how some of us do it
is changing.

You have beautiful hair.
And you have a great beard!

70,000 people in the UK are thought
to be advertising themselves online

as a perspective co-parent.

It's a bit surreal,
isn't it? No, no.

It's just two people meeting,
having a child!

Strangers having babies together
outside a sexual relationship...

As you can see,
we get on really well.

...goes against the fundamental
traditions of romance.

I wanted to meet somebody and fall
in love, but it hasn't happened.

It's now or never.
I need to have children.

And I want to have children.

Now, without the complication
of finding love...

If it's a turkey baster at home,
then so be it!

...these would-be parents
are drawing themselves

into a ground-breaking scheme...

It was so lovely meeting you today.

...the first of its kind
run by fertility and dating experts.

It's a combination of science,
also looking at the people.

They're out to prove
that when it comes to parenthood,

there's a new dawn.

I feel really nervous now,
I feel really scared!

But does redefining relationships...

He comments a lot about my looks.

...go against human nature?

I wouldn't say romance
is off the cards.

And can a platonic arrangement...

This decision is huge.
People don't do this every day.

He's such an amazing guy too.

...actually lead to making babies?

We are completely
on different tracks.

I'm afraid of losing him.

A babymaking revolution
is under way.

Platonic introduction websites
are springing up,

making it easier than ever to find
someone to have a baby with.

But it's like the Wild West
out there.

Never in a million years
would I have ever

gone down the websites
where you meet co-parent.

You've got absolutely no idea
who you're going to meet.

It's so scary. Is the guy on here
cos he's got other intentions,

he's pretending he wants a child?

Like, I don't know if
I'm too trusting or too judgmental.

I went on one of
the Facebook groups.

Fucking hell,
there's some nutters on there.

There are men that go on these
groups just to sleep with women.

It's just so risky.
There's no background checks.

So I do think there's a real
need for more support for people

that want to go through
this process.

One woman wants to help.

We've all dated a bad boy,
haven't we?

They're not necessarily going
to make the right fathers.

Marie Wren is the deputy medical
director of the prestigious

Lister Fertility Clinic.

We perform insemination, IVF,

but more recently, we are
seeing a lot of people

who are looking at co-parenting.

Co-parenting is the term used
when two people decide to have

a baby together outside a
conventional romantic relationship.

Society has changed so much.

People seem to struggle to meet
somebody to have a child with.

So Marie has set up
a unique project,

a blueprint for safe
co-parenting schemes.

We've designed an incredibly
extensive vetting process.

It feels a bit strange!

Marie devised the year-long
Co-parent Matching Project

with other experts,
based on the adoption system.

All of the candidates
had multiple interviews.

I got sick with pneumonia last year.

They had to fill out an incredibly
detailed questionnaire.

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The idea was to make sure each of
the candidates was really committed.

I want to be a dad
because I actually just want

loads of mini-me's
sort of running around.

F

I have a deep desire

to be a dad, again.

They all had criminal checks,
medical checks.

My fertility is not good.
It's low, very low.

It has been an incredibly
thorough process.

I probably won't have children
without this, so...

Thank you.

You are a natural.

Working with Marie on stage one
of the project...

Morning, Marie. Hi, Gillian!

...is former head hunter
and award-winning matchmaker

Gillian McCallum, who will help
process the data

and partner up
the potential co-parents.

Here we go.

I think it's true to say
that Gillian's skills

are completely legendary.

So, Venicia's our First Lady.

She's 34. And she's a nanny.

Now, isn't she the nanny
who's worked

for ultra-high net worth individuals
living a life of glamour? Yes.

She's had some pretty amazing jobs.

She's been a nanny for 18 years and
she's been with her present family

since the baby was born,

and so she obviously has
a lot of experience.

OK. Super.

F

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£

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Venicia's work as a Nanny has taken
her abroad to countries

including South Africa,
Turkey and Dubai.

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Hello.

The door is open.

F

I'm Marie.
Meet Gillian.

Hello, Venicia. I've been
so looking forward to this.

Come and take a seat here.

So we're really excited to find
out what made you

think about co-parenting

and what
brought you to this point today?

É

F

F

F

F

I understand,
so what we're going to do,

we're going to focus on
the three men

that we have selected for you.

Let me have a little look
at the book.

OK, so we're going to start
with Nigel.

He is very invested in this process.

I think he will make
a lovely father.

Hello, I'm Nigel and I spent a long
period of my life

not wanting to be a dad.

I had younger brothers and sisters

who I was standing father for

as ours wasn't around
and I think that

was a negative experience on me
wanting to start my own family.

I want the whole beard groomed,
thank you.

However, my two lovely twin nieces
made me realise

there's nothing I want more
right now than to have a family.

He's very engaging
and he's got a good sense of humour.

Are you sure you're
a professional hairdresser?

Q

Now, the next guy is Vic.

Just here? OK.

Vic is, like me, a Scot,

and he's actually very caring
and he's focused on values.

So, in terms of my co-parent,

I'm looking for someone who will let
the child express themselves,

but also be taught basically
right from wrong.

He really wants a co-parent who's
got similar values

and outlook, which is brilliant.

As a dad I think I'd be very
supportive

and help the child develop in any
way they wanted to.

I think I'd be able to give them
the love

and support that every child
kind of deserves.

Good.

So then we've gotJohn Paul.

Big smile.

It doesn't look too bad.

HE LAUGHS

Slightly outside of what you had
initially said you were looking for.

The reason he's slightly outside,

he's actually been married before.

But we still want you to meet him.

I have two great kids

and I still
enjoy being a parent for them.

And it's me and my boy!

We made it to the top.

Look around.

But I never felt
I had enough children,

so I really, really would like the
opportunity to be a father again.

He gets on extremely well with his
ex.

No animosity.

And he really wants children.

The kind of dad that
I'd like to be

and have always been,

is hands on,
whether it's changing nappies,

taking the kids to a park,
that's the kind of dad I am.

Finally, remember,
this is not dating.

That's got to go
completely.

It has to be about whether or not
this person could be

a good partner for me in raising

a healthy, happy child.

É

Thank you so much for coming in.

After meeting these three initial
matches, Venicia will decide

the two with potential to be
the father of her child.

If the men feel the same way,

they'll move forward
in the process together.

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Q

Now that I'm meeting
a potential co-parent,

it's got very real.

34-year-old Venicia is taking
part

in an extraordinary co-parenting
project.

She's been matched with three men
to potentially have a baby with,

and she's about to meet them
for the very first time.

The whole point of the process is
to do it without romantic feelings,

although I might dress up
a little bit!

I'm just looking to see
if we can hit it off.

A bit of humour,
have a conversation.

We'll see how it goes.

The difference between a date
and meeting a potential co-parent...

...not a lot, I don't think.

Obviously, I've dressed up.

I've ironed a shirt.

I'm going to be wearing
my best aftershave.

I'm actually really excited about
it.

Hi! Hi, Venicia. I'm Nigel.

Nice to meet you, how are you doing?
Nice to meet you too.

The first meeting,
I hope it will be fun,

but I don't need to tell them
everything, you know?

Nervous? A little bit.

That's understandable. How about
you? I'm OK. I do this every week.

I'm going to have a Bloody Megan.

I'll have what he's having.

No, no, don't, because it's a real
commitment. If you don't like it...

Well, it's a challenge now. Please.

É

Venicia LAUGHS

I always wanted to be a dad.

Taking that baby
home for the first time

and having that room set up for them
and watch them going to sleep

for the first time, just something
I've always dreamed of doing.

You hear about messy divorces

where the child just becomes
a kind of pawn.

If you go into a co-parenting
relationship,

you're able to focus on the child.

Hi. Hi! How are you doing?
Nice to meet you. You too.

I just see a lot of benefits to
going down that route. How are you?

I'm good. I've just been working
today. What do you do for work?

It's a kind of project management
company.

OK.

So what I'm doing just now
is data lineage,

I don't know if you know about it?

No! I'm trying to follow, but no.

But I'm interested.

I work in risk and controls.

It's all about managing risk.

And I guess co-parenting kind
of mirrors that

in the fact that
I'm thinking about what happens

if I don't meet the right person
and don't have a family with them.

So when you're not working
really, really hard, what do you do?

I'm a Crystal Palace season ticket
holder. Are you kidding?

I grew up in West Croydon.

Crystal Palace
was my local football team. OK.

I would love to settle down and get
a place in Croydon. Really? Yeah!

I'm not scared of Croydon!

Here we go. Cheers, anyway.
Nice to meet you, Venicia.

Nice to meet you too, Nigel.

You know what? Tastes like gazpacho.

It is, it's a meal.

In a co-parent, I would like
somebody who's going to listen,

somebody who is open minded.

Um, to everything.

But this is not completely
offensive.

Slightly offensive, but that's OK.
Most things offend me.

So slightly offensive is OK? Yes!

That's going to make the rest
of my evening a lot easier.

So what do you do?

I am a high-profile nanny.
What's that?

It's basically families
who are in public... life.

You're Gwyneth Paltrow's nanny?
Yeah, basically!

I do want to be a mum, because
I have a lot of love to give.

Like, I raise these babies every day
and now I'm ready to keep them!

Yeah.

Were you responsible for children
from the baby stage?

I started one month
before the littlest was born.

One month before they were born!

Yes, and when he came
out of the hospital two days old,

his mum handed him to me.

So I went out and bought all
the baby things, which I love.

I've done that as well. I was quite
sad when Mothercare closed. Oh!

The bottom line is,
they're not my children.

But I'm done with the upset.

Like... sorry!

I'm not sad. It's just...

No, it's love. Yeah.

It's that saying, what is it?
Loss is the price you pay for love.

What makes you want
to have your own family?

For me, it's always just something
I've wanted to do.

When I was in my early twenties,

I kind of picked out kids' names and
when I wanted to get married. Aw!

The last relationship
I had was over three years

and I was ready and everything
ticked all the boxes

apart from, she didn't want to have
kids.

So then that was kind of...
A dealbreaker. Yeah, a dealbreaker.

It was the hardest decision in my
life to make, to kind of end it.

Obviously,
you're aspiring to have children

but that might never happen either,
so you're giving up a huge thing,

spending the rest of your life
with somebody.

And I look back and I think,
was it the right decision?

But you're never going to be
certain.

I thought I could maybe just go
without kids,

but then seeing my friends having
kids,

I guess that desire just became
stronger.

I get it.

You want your little one to join
in with their little ones as well.

I understand. I totally get it.

If I had my child now,

they would have a seven-year age
gap to the biggest,

because I'm there with my friends.

I'm like, if I have my child
in the next year,

then at least they'll be close
in age.

Sometimes I feel like I'm talking
too much. I like travel.

Where did you go on your travels?

Now we've opened
the can of worms that is travelling,

I will talk about this till you cry.

Yeah! I could do it all day.

I mean, I'm quite loud.
I'm a bit of a bulldozer!

I've seen so many amazing things

that I would want my child to see
with their own eyes. Yeah.

I think I dominate a room.

I don't realise until after, but
I don't know if I intimidated him.

It was really nice to meet you.

Thank you for taking the time.

He seems pleasant enough,

but in terms of personality,
quite shy, actually.

It was so nice to see you. You too.

I don't know, maybe it was
out of his comfort zone

or maybe it was just me.

Obviously, she talks a lot,

so it was very difficult to get
a sense of the person she is.

Hi, just to Beckenham, please.

I think co-parenting is
a long-term good option.

It's just finding the right person,

so it's making sure that it's
the right person

because obviously, once you commit,

there's no going back and
just handing the baby back.

I think he's a nice guy,

but I don't think it's something
that I will pursue further.

If it doesn't work out,
then it doesn't matter.

I've got lots of kids around me.

My godson's mum is always telling
me that in old age,

he can look after me.

I don't know if he knows that.

Well, he won't know that,
because he's only three!

So Gillian, next,

we're meeting Sarah, who's 38.

Back at the agency,
Marie and Gillian

are preparing for the next woman
enrolling in the project.

She works in marketing
for a non-profit company.

She has a big family,
parents have retired to Cornwall.

She's a really good amateur level
ballroom dancer.

And she's apparently
a fantastic baker.

F

Trying to find a co-parent can be
a little bit like shoe shopping...

...because you end up looking for
the shiniest of all of the options.

Hello? It's Sarah here to see
Gillian and Marie.

AUTOMATED VOICE:

Sarah describes
herself as unlucky in love.

To become a mother,

she's already rejected the concept
of sperm donation,

deciding instead on co-parenting.

I class myself as remarkably
traditional,

even though I'm actually doing
something

that is remarkably untraditionaL

Sarah, hi. Lovely to meet you.
Come through. Yeah.

Gillian is our matchmaking expert.

I want to have a child,
I'm ready to have a child.

The only thing that I'm missing
is the co-parent.

F

I've been waiting to meet
the right person,

and my obstacle is finding
the right person.

I mean, I'm very lucky.

I have the most wonderful father,

and I would like a child
to have that.

And it brings two personalities,
it brings two sets of values.

É

I've spoken to a lot of people.

I've done a lot of research.
This has been years coming.

F

F

é

é

F

F

Yeah.

F

OK, shall we get started?

F

F

F

é

F

é

Excellent.

For me, it's about giving
opportunities to travel

and experience new things and make
them whatever they want to be.

£

I'm definitely
going to be a hands-on dad.

I want to be fully involved.

É

F

F

I've been successful in my career,

but I don't yet feel like I've
reached my full potential,

and that
will come with being a dad.

F

One big smile?

Co-parenting, I think,
has appealed to me

because last year,
I nearly died in hospital.

You know, parents rushing
to be at your bedside.

I lay there thinking,
"I want family".

F

He's a leading light
in the academic world.

I come from a big family,
lots of children, lots of people.

I'd like to think I'd make
a good dad.

They sound amazing!

Yes!

É

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The thing that
I care about is that they are kind,

because you're effectively
building a friend for life.

F

é

I'm so excited!

Sarah, thank you so much for coming
in,

it's been a pleasure to meet
you.

Lovely to meet you.

SHE COUGHS

This is strong!

Venicia has already
discounted one of her matches.

Don't scupper yourself.
It's the pepper!

Before she meets her third option,
Nigel is out to impress.

What do you do?
Oh, that's easy, nothing. Oh!

Have we reached that
level of comfortable...

No, just literally, I'm just lazy.
I'm joking.

You're my spirit animal.
No, I haven't reached that level.

A brief description -
I worked in the same job,

I had a business in the motor trade
based in north London,

a family business, from leaving
school to early forties.

Then I gave that up
to start a family.

My ex and I kind of set
up our lives to be parents.

I gave up my business. We moved to
a big house in the country.

Any babies come out of that? No.
I'm quite open about what happened.

We tried naturally.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out.
So we had IVF.

And that didn't work out either,
sadly.

That's a lot of pressure
for couples, right?

But the biggest one was, we went
straight from the IVF to adoption.

Oh, wow.

About three weeks after we got
accepted, that's when we split.

But it was the right decision.

Knowing, like, what he's been
through to try and have a child

and now he's here, putting himself
out there

for potentially having a child,
it's amazing, and so refreshing.

It's, um, I wouldn't say I'm
desperate to have a family,

I just know
I'd be really good at it.

I told Venicia about my experience
with IVF.

I didn't go, considering it was
the first meeting,

I didn't go into details
about my own fertility.

It's a difficult one.

You don't meet someone
and shake their hand and say,

"Oh, by the way,
I've got slow swimmers".

Parenting is expensive
and can be exhausting.

Fertility expert Marie Wren has set
up a ground-breaking

co-parenting project.

Our women and men are thinking
about parenting with a stranger.

Would-be parents can go it alone
with sperm donation, surrogacy

or adoption, but co-parenting offers
the support of a partnership.

Unless you've got an incredibly
close friend to have a child with,

finding a potential
co-parent is difficult.

We are all here to see if we can
make this process safer and better.

The project's being set up...

How do you deal with conflict?

What do you expect from this? How do
you think you would deal with this?

...with the help of experts
from across the country...

F

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...to create a new way of having
children...

Hopefully create a debate in
society.

...that could radically change
the definition of family.

The project's already matched
potential co-parents...

Don't feel obliged to finish it.

...and nanny Venicia is coming to
the end of meeting her second

possible partner.

Done. I'm impressed. I mean, I tried
hard. No, you smashed it.

Absolutely very impressed by that.
And very impressed in general.

What a lovely person you are.

I know, I'm pleasantly surprised.
Thank you. Um...

He was funny,
we had, like, lots of banter,

and I think humour is important.

Like, I don't know, I think
life's so serious anyway.

Thanks for a lovely time.

We have a lot in common,
like, personality wise,

so meeting him was, like, "Oh,
my God. Hello, mirror."

Yeah, I'd like to see him again.

Great fun, really easy to talk to.
Amazing person. Real sparkle.

She'd be a fantastic mother.

On a romantic level, I feel a little
bit kind of, like,

"Oh, you could do much better than
me."

Romance is lovely, but it has a way
of making people lose their minds.

I think the idea of two people that
decide to get together

to have a child...

Hi... Hello!

...and there's no romance involved,
are thinking quite clearly.

How are you? Yeah, I'm good. Very,
very well. Yes. You look great. Oh!

Thank you. You too, you look very
handsome and put together.

Do you like my shirt? Ironed.
Very nice. It's ironed!

Some white wine. That would be nice.

Can I get a hot chocolate, please?

OK.

So, tell me,
what do you do for a living?

Training courses, you know,
for business. What do you do?

I'm a nanny. I work long hours,
babysit sometimes...

What's long hours?
Minimum of 13 hours a day.

How do you date, then?

You've been working 13 hours a day?
I don't!

Which is why I'm into co-parenting.

Thank you very much. Thanks.
Cheers to the hot chocolate. Yeah.

One of the reasons why
I chose a heterosexual co-parent was

I didn't want to take romance
completely off the table.

Ideally I would like to have a child
and be with the child's dad,

but I don't want the onus to be
the relationship,

when actually I need to know that
you're going to be a good dad.

What about you? What is your experiencing with
parenting? Do you have babies in your family?

I've got two... I've got two kids.
Wow. That's nice.

But they're kind of grown-ish
babies.

Like, my younger son is 14 and my
eldest son has just turned 19.

Holy Moley! OK. You don't
look old enough. Yeah.

The age range I'm looking for in a
partner would bee kind of 35 to kind of...

"42.

How old are you, if you don't mind
me asking, with a 19-year-old son.

I just turned 50. You just turned
50?! OK.

I'm just trying to picture the
energy, like,

do they want to be chasing around a
toddler in the park?

When I turned 50, to be honest, I didn't
raise an eyebrow, because I feel good.

And also, how old they would be when
the baby's, like, 20.

You know, getting married, will they
be around?

It's things I need to consider.

Why would you want to start the parenting
journey again? Like, your nappy days are over!

The thing is, that's my pleasure.
Mm.

If I could choose any activity in
the day,

it would be to spend time with my
kids. OK.

That would be number one, always.
Oh, that's nice. OK.

I remember when I held my oldest
son for the first time,

and just feeling blown away
completely.

And you just go to mush, because you
know in that moment now you're a dad.

Me and my ex-partner, we
separated about eight years ago. OK.

What happened, we did a shared
custody arrangement,

so they'd be with me a week, and be
with her a week.

OK. So you've got experience
of co-parenting, then. A little bit!

Yeah, sounds like you know a
few... Successful co-parenting.

Sounds like you know a thing or two.

I think a lot of it is being
able to talk. Yeah.

The kind of dad I am is very
hands-on.

It gives me a lot of pleasure.

As soon as I say, "Whoa, let's go
Nando's," they're like,

"Oh, Dad, love you, man!"

I'm ready for the second chance, you
know?

Second chance, third chance, fourth
chance.

Let's keep going.

Do you live in London? Yeah. There's
a luxury area called Croydon.

Have you heard of it? I'm from
Croydon. Stop lying! Don't even try!

I was raised in West Croydon.
Was you?! Yeah.

No way!
This is not from West Croydon.

Listen, I know what people
look like from West Croydon.

I did find her attractive.

It's been... Yeah, it's been a
pleasure. No, it's been really nice.

Oh, you giving me a high five? Thank
you so much. I really appreciate it.

It's a pleasure.

I'm not in a romantic relationship,
so I'm open to it,

but it's not a prerequisite,
you know?

If it happens, that'll be brilliant.

Mwah. Take care.

But if the most that happens is we,
you know, co-parent,

that would be mission accomplished.

How you doing, sir? Lovely Croydon.

It's quite exciting.

I remember sitting there with
her as we were talking,

maybe about halfway through,
thinking, you know,

we could actually be
thinking about having a kid here.

So this could actually be
going somewhere.

I always thought that I would never
co-parent or date someone with children.

I can see now how
that would be beneficial.

I'm a nanny and he's a parent,

so maybe he can teach me
a thing or two.

And I can correct him.

It's perfectly possible that people
who meet through this process

could have a romantic spark.

However, a romantic entanglement
might just make it more

complicated, and that's why Sarah's
happy to meet potential male

co-parents who are gay.

Taking romance out of the picture

makes finding a potential co-parent
easier to deal with.

It's just a much simpler
relationship, and it

means that the focus is all on the
child, and not on the co-parents.

Sarah is about to meet her matches -
three total strangers,

one of whom could to be
the father of her child.

I have a bit of a wish list.

They have to be a people person,

somebody that has
traditional family values.

Most important is that they have to
be kind.

Everything is at stake.

You know, we're trying to work out

whether we want to have a
child together.

Yeah, it feels pretty huge.

Co-parenting, it's not a usual
thing, is it? So strange.

I've no idea how to
behave in this situation,

and I've no idea what the dynamic's
going to be like.

Hi, are you Sarah? Hi, there.

Lovely to meet you. Nice to meet
you.

I'm nearly 40, I think that it's now
or never. I have to make this work.

Oh... Weirdest experience, isn't it?
How are you feeling? Yeah...

Like, really nervous. Do you want
some water? Oh, yeah.

Gosh, so tell me about you.
I live near Reading. How about you?

I live in Manchester. Yeah? Yeah.

F

Yes, please. A drink-drink, orjust
a drink? We could have a wine.

Shall we? Yeah, go on. Two white
wines, please. Thank you.

Dirty nappies, bedtime stories,

dreams about babies is nearly
every night now.

Hello. Lovely to meet you. You too.

There's also been strange
dreams about being pregnant myself.

Which is really weird.

So, it's almost like a date,

but the stakes are much higher
than it being a date. They are.

What do you do for work?
What's your job?

So I work in marketing for a little
not-for-profit, which is

really nice. How about you?
I'm a vet nurse. Are you?!

Yeah, so very animal orientated.
That must be amazing.

I think I've always wanted to work
with animals, and I kind

of fell into this profession,
but it's something that...

I can't imagine doing
anything else now.

Trying to really get to know
somebody is so difficult.

I mean, do you have something
that sums you up?

Looking online for a co-parent,
for me, was too big.

You need to meet them
in person to understand exactly what

they are like,
you need to interact with them.

I suppose the thing I hear myself
saying the most is, "Are you OK?"

Do you? Yeah. If everyone's all
right,

then I'm all right, because
everyone's OK. Yeah.

It has to be somebody that
I can get on with as a friend.

Um...

So, tell me about your hobbies,
what do you like to do?

So, I do ballroom dancing.
Oh, great. How about you?

What you do for fun?
I travel quite a lot.

I'm the master of cheap flights.
That's your superpower, is it?

I'm looking for the father
of my child.

You know, do we want to do
the same sort of thing?

I like to be the person that,
I guess, organises things.

I'm much more spontaneous...
Yeah, yeah.

But, you know...

What I don't want
is to find that, actually,

we're wanting to run
parenting at different speeds.

I love a bit of travelling,
but I'm quite a homebody.

I do quite like getting home, so...

I'm travelling back tonight
to Manchester

and I'm quite looking forward to
seeing my dogs.

My thing is cats.

I absolutely love a cat.

Yeah. For me, it's, like,
antihistamines.

Oh, is it just cats you're allergic
to? Yeah, just cats, yeah.

Everything else I'm fine with.
I don't know why cats.

Since I got the dogs, I became
vegetarian as well, so... Did you?

And being vegetarian, as well,
you do, by default, I think,

eat more, like, vegetables.

So, tell me about your family.
Mum and Dad are 52 years married.

Oh, lovely!
Still together, which is

quite a, you know, abnormal
thing in this day and age.

Being a biological dad and seeing a
family resemblance is important.

Being able to see your family
within your child's face,

it's an amazing thing.

If I don't have children,
my family line will die out. Oh!

That's a lot of responsibility.

It's not pressure from them,
but it is pressure I feel,

because I know that that's
missing from their lives.

So, yeah...

...it's a shame.

Because they'd be
amazing grandparents.

Sorry.

What are your expectations
of the responsibility

split between yourself
and the co-parent?

I mean, I've always said I would
like to be the main carer. OK.

How about you?

I would want as much as you would
want to be the caregiver,

so I think it would have to
work from a

"Let's split this
absolutely down the middle."

I don't know whether I could be
separated from a newborn

for any length of time.

There's a great deal of merit
in that, which is really lovely.

How would it work
if I'm breast-feeding?

It makes me anxious thinking about
it now, and I don't have a child.

I know I'd be a good dad.

Without a schedule of the doubt,
I know that that's in me.

It was so lovely to meet you. It's
gone really quickly,

as well, hasn't it? It has. It's
been really nice.

What I would need is a co-parent
that

understood the child's needs
and my needs as a mother

so that we could work out
an arrangement that

works for both of us,
and that is flexible enough.

It went well. She's lovely.

Hello. Euston station.

Just a little worry was that she

feels like she should be the main
caregiver.

Erm...

...but why should she be?

And it's so nice to hear you've got a really
close relationship with your mum and dad still.

Oh, I have. Yeah, I'm lucky. Yeah.
They live down in Cornwall you know,

so, visiting my parents,
I get to go on holiday.

THEY LAUGH

38-year-old Sarah is meeting
the second of three strangers...

...who could end up being
the father of her child.

50, um. So, yeah, I like travelling.

Mm. It really kind of broadens
the mind.

It does, yeah. I've been to Romania
a couple of times...

Great. ..erm, working with orphans.

Oh, amazing. It was years ago.

That was really lovely, but, I mean,
obviously, kind of,

heartbreaking, as well, you know?
Yeah.

How about you, what do you do?

So, I've got a radio station, so.
Do you? Yeah.

Tell me.

It's called Gaydio. Great name.
Er, it is.

It kind of says what it is, I think.

OFF-SCREEN: Gaydio is a radio
station that talks about

sexual orientation.

Whilst the UK is more liberal than
it ever was... Yes. ..people really

still are disadvantaged
by some of those things.

Nobody was doing it, and quite a lot
of people didn't really get it.

If you love what you do, it makes
for a good life, doesn't it?

100%. If and when I have children
I'd love them to have

the same opportunities
that I've had.

Is there anything else that you
would like?

I'd like a child to
mirror my values, I suppose.

Yes. Honesty and integrity is key...
Really. ..for me. Yeah.

I think some of my values are quite
traditional.

Oh, me, too. 100%.

That's good.

Shared values is
an absolute necessity.

As long as we have similar values,
and want to raise

a child in a similar way,
that's the most important thing.

It's great to meet you. It so lovely
to meet you, too. It's been great.

There were a few quiet moments,

but Ian's one of the most genuine
people that I've...

That I think I've ever met.

Thank you so much. Give us a hug.

I think that we have
a lot of things in common,

but the elephant in the room is
distance.

Euston, please.

You know, he lives in Manchester,
I live near Reading.

That's not great.

If Sarah was interested then it
would be great to get to know her

a little bit more.

I think, you know, you kind of meet
somebody for such a short time

it's difficult to make a judgment,

but I think it's starting to feel
really real now.

F

F

é

Hi! How are you?

É

é

F

HE LAUGHS

So, have you come far?

F

OK.

I live near Reading.
I'm so used to...

é

And you have a great beard!

Can you?

Oh! It's a goodie!
HE LAUGHS

F

I have a big brother and a little
sister. How about you?

F

Oh, did they?

Oh! Seven?

F

F

Yeah.
Of course.

F

é

é

So, where are you from originally?

É

Can you do whose coat is that
jacket?

IN WELSH ACCENT:
SHE LAUGHS

Amazing!

Oh, I love it.

I need to bring up a child
in a house with fun and silliness.

SHE LAUGHS

So, I need to make sure that
I have somebody who can bring

fun into a child's life.

It doesn't matter how hard I try,
though, I can't do the Welsh accent.

OK.

Now, that's a great accent.

É

So, he's clearly up for the
co-parenting, is he?

Yep.

Mm-hm.

£

F

Amazing. Yeah.

I do quite like the idea
of a co-parent having a partner.

Good.

I mean, I hope that I'll meet
somebody one day,

and it will be really lovely for a
child to see a loving family unit.

F

So, I do ballroom and Latin dancing.

Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.

How about you?

Sorry?

£

Oh, amazing.

F

é

Really? Do you have a
favourite type of build?

%

F

F

F

F

F

Explain to me, what do you do?

É

F

Fancy.

F

As soon as he walked in the room,
I felt at ease.

F

Oh! I love yoga.

F

I think that we have a lot
of similarities.

Oh, I have, yeah.

É

Really?

Yeah! This sounds amazing.
THEY LAUGH

He's way cooler
than I could ever be.

So are you!
Take care.

I laughed a lot, and that's
something quite special.

É

F

F

é

HE LAUGHS

I really liked all of them.

It's amazing to have kind of taken
the first steps into

the potential world of co-parenting.

É

%

F

é

How are you doing?
..more matchers.

Trinity, nice to meet you.

Hey!
In stage two of the project...

I would like a dab of teabag
in my milk.

F

...unions are tested by
love complications...

You're ridiculous.

I wouldn't say romance is off the
cards.

Hello.
..and revelations.

F

F

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