Series 8: Episodes 5 - 8

Jason and wife Sally live the 'good life' in the Cambridgeshire countryside with their two children, having chosen to turn their backs on conventional society.

Their back-to-basics lifestyle means that Jason literally plays the role of hunter-gatherer. Jason believes in traditional roles for men and women, so while he's out hunting, Sally takes care of the kids and the animals. With 36 ferrets, 20 geese, and countless chickens to take care of, she rarely gets a break!

Career-orientated Dalite Dryer wears the trousers in her household, once husband Nick has finished ironing them. Dalite felt she was losing her identity in the role of wife and mother, so four years ago she became a business woman and now invests every second of her time into making a success of her business: a small gallery and coffee shop.

Dalite's need to be organised and in charge of the business carries over in to her family life, she's the boss at home too. She spends all her time at the gallery and so delegates most of the childcare to husband Nick, and their aupair.

In this powerful swap, find out what happens when these two vastly different families clash over their chosen lifestyle. The results are truly life changing for both families with unexpected and surprising outcomes.

The swap causes one wife to completely re-evaluate her life, describing Wife Swap as "one of the worst experiences of her life but also one of the best." During the swap, there is also a moving revelation from one of the husbands, that he had previously never told his wife.

Single dad John plays the role of both mum and dad after he and his wife separated and his two teenage sons decided to live with him in Birmingham. John lets his kids lead their own life; provided they get on at school and stay out of trouble. He lets them make their own rules, leaving them free to do what they want.

John is a free spirit too, having recently quit his job in order to follow his dream of becoming a musician. This means that, until he makes it big, he's reliant on benefits for an income.

John's not entirely alone though, and has support in the form of best mate Andy, who moved in to help out with the family and is on hand to offer advice to the kids.

Over in Manchester, Smruty Vyas runs a tight ship in her house. The family moved to England nearly 30 years ago and set up a convenience store, with both parents working long hours in the shop to provide everything for their children.

Dad Paresh works particularly long hours, with shifts in the shop starting at 7am and ending at 9pm at night, seven days a week. The strong work ethic also applies to home life, with dad Paresh comparing his family to a well-trained army.

Mum Smruty works longs hours too, taking on all the cooking so that the kids can focus on their studies, and dad can focus on his work.

With no mum in the Strevens house, John takes on the role of wife for the swap, which comes as a complete surprise to Smruty, who after reading the manual decides she can't go on with the exchange.

Will traditional mum Smruty be able to come to terms with this unusual swap, and what can she learn from a household of lively lads? How will laid back single dad John cope with being a wife and mother? Although there are cultural differences to overcome on both sides, both families learn from each other.

The couple married 21 years ago when Chris was 21 and Ray was 38. Despite a big age gap, the couple are still going strong and living in Birmingham with their three teenage children and three-year-old granddaughter.

Chris and Ray have a liberal approach to family life too, and with no rules and discipline in the house the kids are free to do what they want. This means that 19-year-old daughter Sam is free to work as a pole dancer in the evenings, leaving mum Chris to take care of baby Jessica.

The Ramseys enjoy take-out food most nights and despite her demanding job as a nurse, it's mum Chris who goes out to get the family meals and clears up afterwards.

Over in Nottingham, there's not a take-away menu in sight. The Green family are fit, highly ambitious and very disciplined. Mum Tracey and step dad Ben have a goal for 11-year-old daughter Sharntay Green to swim in the 2012 Olympics. They devote all their time to try to achieve this dream.

Sharntay's gruelling swimming schedule dominates the entire family routine; both Tracey and Ben take equal responsibility for keeping the swimming programme on course, sharing all the household chores too. There's little free time for Sharntay as she spends most of her evenings training at the pool.

How will a tough disciplinarian dad cope when he is forced to spoil his daughter, and how will a laid-back dad cope when he is forced to get tough with his kids? How will the Ramsey kids cope without TV and take-away food? What will happen when Tracey confronts the Ramseys about their real wife-swapping antics?

Alison Henry has one priority in life: her five children. She cooks, cleans and runs around after them all day, every day.

Alison believes her role is to make life as fun and comfortable as possible for her children, so the household is run according to the kids' timetable.

Alison doesn't like rules or forcing her kids to do anything they don't want to do, so they have no set bedtime, leading to post-midnight running around. Even when they eventually go to bed, they rarely stay there.

Michelle Gibbs is a mother who believes adults should be in charge. Her three children respect her word and know she has the final say.

Michelle believes children need structure, routine and discipline and has set bedtimes for them alongside a strict rota of chores.

Michelle and her husband Paul make sure the kids are tucked up in bed so they have plenty of time together.

How does Alison cope with handing out punishments to children and having to stick to them? How do her kids react to rules, punishments and a strict rota of household chores?

Can Michelle cope with a houseful of children who expect their mother to do everything? And there's a major revelation at the table meeting.

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