''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also featured Romanichal (British Gypsies) in several episodes, and has been criticised by some Romani for not accurately representing England’s Romani and Travelling community. It was first broadcast in February 2010 as a one-off documentary called ''My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'', filmed as part of the Cutting Edge series and voted Most Groundbreaking Show in the Cultural Diversity Awards 2010. A series of 5 episodes were later commissioned, and the series first aired in January 2011. A second series began airing in February 2012. A third series was not commissioned, rather the show ended with eleven stand-alone specials. In North America, the show airs on

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under the title ''My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'', with the original narration by

Barbara Flynn Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series '' A Family at War'' (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy ...

replaced by Ellen K., while the

TLC network TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the ow ...

started airing a spin-off featuring American Roma called '' My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding''.

Reception

The show has been criticised mainly by the Irish Traveller & British Gypsy/Traveller communities for misrepresenting them. Jane Jackson of the Rural Media Company (publishers the ''Travellers' Times'') said: Executive Producer Jes Wilkins said: Billy Welch, a spokesman for Romani Gypsies, said: During the episode ''No Place Like Home'', ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' had 4 of the top 10 trending topics worldwide on social networking website Twitter. In June 2011,

rebroadcast the show and was filming a U.S. version.

Ratings

''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' opened in 2011. The second episode got 7.4m viewers at its peak. It was the eighth highest rating in Channel 4's history. The final episode was watched by 6.5 million viewers, easily beating the

2011 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2011 was the 31st edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held on Tuesday 15 February 2011 at The O2 Arena in London for the first time in its history, moving fr ...

which had an average viewership of 4.8 million.

Controversies

The series has faced a number of controversies, including allegations of racism in its advertising and instigating a rise in the rate of racially motivated bullying. The episode "No Place Like Home" caused controversy after it showed young girls provocatively dancing and wearing full make-up.

Awards

Broadcast readers voted the series' progenitor, ''My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'', the 'Most Groundbreaking Programme' at the Cultural Diversity Awards 2010. Executive producer Jes Wilkins and creator and Producer Jenny Popplewell were in attendance to accept the award. Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Series 1 was nominated for a BAFTA in the YouTube Audience Vote category.

Episodes

''My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding'' (2010)

Series 1

Royal wedding special (2011)

Christmas special (2011)

Series 2

Stand-alone specials

Channel 4 confirmed there would not be a third series of ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' but instead would end the show with six stand-alone specials that were to be aired throughout 2013. Despite this, eleven specials have aired to date. The eighth special, called ''Big Fat Gypsy Christmas: Carols and Caravans'' on the website's official episode guide, features the same title card and animation as ''My Big Fat Gypsy Christmas'', the last episode of the first season. This often leads to confusion between the two. The latest special to air was titled ''My Big Fat Gypsy Grand National'', this was shown on 6 April 2015.

References

External links

''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings''
at Channel4.com
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings at Firecracker Films
* {{TLC Programming 2010 British television series debuts 2015 British television series endings British documentary television series Cutting Edge (TV series) episodes Documentaries about weddings English-language television shows Wedding television shows Works about Irish Travellers Irish Travellers in the United Kingdom