Adopt-a-Grandad and Adopt-a-Granny
Channel 4, 28 and 29 March 9pm

As divorce rates rise and communities fragment, the extended family as we once knew it is under threat. Whereas in previous generations grandparents remained at the heart of home life, now they are just as likely to be marginalised, separated, or completely missing from the lives of their children and the generation beyond.

Inspired by the real-life story of an Italian widower who advertised for a family to adopt him, Adopt-a-Grandad and Adopt-a-Granny document the very different journeys undertaken by two elderly people who find themselves alone in life. They each go to live with a family that lacks an older generation and which is looking to find stability and love through the wisdom of a grandparent.

In Adopt-a-Grandad, retired teacher and widower James, 85, grabs the chance to move in with single mum Angela and her four children. They lack a positive male role model, and he has no experience of grandfatherhood. In Adopt-a-Granny, 75-year-old divorcee Joy – who has been on her own for 25 years – goes to stay with Nicky, Phil and their children. She has grandchildren of her own but rarely sees them, and Nicky is estranged from her mother.

As they embark on parallel but distinctive journeys James, Joy and their adoptive families surprise themselves with the range of emotions – and insight into each other's lives – that they experience in a bid to find lasting connections with each other and create life-changing relationships.

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