User Reviews

I have always been interest in the ideas and imaginations of kids, and this is a fantastic example of how they can be used. Hosted by Tess Daly and Ulrika Jonsson, this was a fantastic show for Saturday nights, I wish it would come back. Basically every week there would be a new family with kids who would want changes to the house. The parents are obviously not all keen or just worried what they will do, but they still go ahead with it. The kids have the ability to do anything to their house, and the team of experts, builders and even gadget people try to make their dream come true. Sometimes the kids are cruel and have their parents hates/nightmares come true, but they have to live with it. Some of the greatest, and sometimes outrageous ideas have included: talking donkeys, telecoms, secret dens, a sweet filled lounge and much more. It was number 72 on The 100 Greatest TV Treats 2002 for the episode when the kids turned their kitchen into a burger restaurant, it didn't last as the parents detested that type of food. Very good!

We are the family whose kitchen was "turned into a burger bar". Our episode was - we were told many months later - shown at the Cannes TV festival. No, the kitchen didn't stay as a burger bar for more than a few days: the simple reason being not that we didn't like burgers, but that it wasn't really a kitchen but a stage set tacked over our kitchen units, sink, cooker, fridge, dishwasher...sorry to burst the bubble on this but we really couldn't even boil an egg in it. Other things the team did were brilliant and delightful and we still have beautiful murals in two of the bedrooms even though the owners are now away at university. We will always remember the kindness and friendliness of the whole team especially the amazing Jem, the guy with the gadgets, some of which eventually found their way to the local secondary school DT department. Having said all that, I am not really sure we were right to do the programme. One thing that left a sour taste in my mouth was that after having specifically promised NOT to show any film of our kids quarreling or in distress the company sold the whole thing to another company making a "worst makeover disasters" show and that company DID use shots of my daughter in tears. This was sneaky. Now the children are older they look back with some cynicism about how cleverly they were manipulated into playing parts the producers had planned for them. Oh and my children hated the nannies who were looking after them while we were away. After having been charming and fun in interviews with me, they turned out to be bossy and mean. The other thing that made me feel uncomfortable followed after we had to pretend to have a "posh dinner party" in the "burger bar". We were asked to invite friends round. As it happened, the friends we invited were all Afro-Caribbean and Afro-American. Not one shot from the "dinner party" was used, though they spent hours filming us. I don't want to suggest that it didn't fit with the "posh middle class" image the producers had devised for us that we had black friends...but I've often wondered. I would say to anyone thinking of putting their kids into a reality show: yes, your children will at least learn the vital lesson that all TV is fake - but on the whole, DON'T.