Wait Till Your Father Gets Home

One million children in the UK never see their real dads. With ASBOS on the rise and traditional respect for elders apparently in meltdown, could this absence of so many dads be a factor in the increasingly uncivilised behaviour of the nation’s boys? Against this background, Channel 4’s ‘Wait Till Your Father Gets Home’ programme reunites two sets of estranged fathers and sons.

In this unique pair of films, two families have agreed to a radical proposition. For five days, an estranged dad moves into his son’s home. Mum and the rest of the family move out and dad has to care for his son completely.

Working with a leading psychotherapist in the area, the fathers and sons are encouraged to explore the past and finally get to know each other properly. This is more than timely for the families – the boys are 14 and 15 and it has been proven extremely hard to reestablish meaningful relations between father and son beyond those ages.

After a bonding session in the English countryside, the sons move into their father’s homes for the remainder of the fortnight as they attempt to build a relationship for the future. This programme highlights one of the country's most important social issues. Although the experience only lasts two weeks, the impact could last for ever.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home will air in August 2007.

Visit Channel4.co.uk for more information.