just been offered a surrogate grandparent by tv company - a bad idea to say yes?

[tigermoth]

I kid you not. I have to let them know by tomorrow. They have a lovely elderly man lined up. He would live with us for two weeks, getting to know us and helping with the children. Presumably it will be fimled. He has no family and longs to be a grandad. We have no family living nearby and I at least miss having hands on grandparents. dh and I haven't had a night without the children for 11 years. My sons have never had grandparents around to witness their birthday parties, school plays or ... well the list is endless. One of the main reasons I started attending church was to give my
sons the chance to get to know elderly people in the community.
The whole TV idea is tempting but as dh says, no good can come of it .....can it?????

Thoughts much appreciated.

Did you apply?

Would you want to be onTV, or have a strnge man in the house...i wouldn't

Wee-e-ell, I would hide the stuffed crow on the mantlepiece before filming starts - it might give the wrong impression.

And will they let you meet this would-be-grandad before you agree? He COULD be a Werthers Original, but on the other hand it could be like Wife Swap and he could be offering your lads woodbines behind the shed - or fiddling with them....

Tigermoth - you HAVE to meet him before deciding.

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

tv will make you look like idiots. i am constantly surprised at the numbers of people who offer themselves up as cannon foddre for reality tv shows. reality tv only works if the people you watch are interesting. so you will look like arses. don't do it

it is amazing qhat can be done by a good editor even if you are great 99% of time they'll only screen the other 1^%

Yes, you do have to meet him before you make up your mind I think. Also bear in mind that sometimes as far as a director is concerned there is no interest without drama/conflict of some kind so they may try to engineer some. They also may not of course but it depends on the programme they're trying to make really. What is it and how have they explained it to you? I guess it all depends on their remit, if they're making a fluffy programme about familial relationships then it could be a great opportunity. Be wary though. If it's a responsible programme maker and you trust them to not stitch you up then go for it.

Personally I wouldn't go in a million miles of it! sorry

But to all the doubters I'd say that if it was an Everyman (unlikely I know) or another reputable company and programme maker rather than wife swap type stuff it might not be irresponsible crap reality type tv. I know the odds are against it but I do know someone who appeared in a documentary and WASN'T stitched up at all but had a very positive and enjoyable experience.

So, it would be an old fella living in your house for 2 weeks, who is basically a stranger?

You could be lucky and get a lovely old man, like me Grandad who had reams of paper and pencils for us, a shed full of wood that we used to make things with, a cupbord full of sweets and biscuits. And if he was able to would have given us the top brick from the chimney.

On the other hand you could have a miserable, whingy, ungrateful, rude, obnoxiuos old fart who volunteered for this programme to get access to children IYKWIM.

Not in a million years would I do this.

channel 4 by any chance?

WWW, how's the job and living at MIL's going?

Hope it's all going well.

Tigermoth, I've just sent an email to your yahoo account.

Excellent, have you sussed out the roads yet?

I would meet the man and see, if possible. Would be lovely if it worked out. Could be a nightmare old codger though.

I've just come out of working in TV production, and I would say no, no, no, don't do it.

Run Forrest Run

In other words NO WAY

I've been a contributor on a make-over show (houses) and would say it was worth it but you have to be aware that they may well have a story they want to film and will manipulate you to fit the part. Simple maths - they filmed our programme for four days to make 30 mins of telly. And engineered situations. Meet the man, ask loads of questions to sus out their agenda, and then, IME do it anyway. OK, it might be embarrassing but it could also be a fascinating experience.

was that 'life laundry?' which ones were you

no comment!

i remember you mentioning it before. i watch the repeats on one of the sky channels, and each time i think, hmm is that edam and co

If you mean the one with the stunningly beautiful couple who the national adored... then, sadly, no!