Little Angels is a Bafta-nominated[1] British reality television show which ran for three series on BBC Three (2004–6). The series, in the docu-soap genre, aimed to show parents how to overcome common behavioural problems in their children, using a team of experts who observed and gave advice. The format of each programme involved experts monitoring the behaviour of the family and the children, before discussing with the parents the real underlying causes of the problem, which frequently involved the parents themselves. The experts then discussed a course of action with the parents, later coaching them on how to change their own and their children's behaviour to improve the situation. This was frequently achieved in scenes where the family was filmed in a communal activity, with the parents receiving advice from the attending professional via an ear piece. In addition to its entertainment value, Little Angels gave viewers strategies to deal with common problems, and offered real help to the family being filmed. The show's experts, Tanya Byron,[2] Stephen Briers, Rachel Morris and Laverne Antrobus, became household names. Little Angels was the first in a series of reality television programmes to focus on parenting, with successors including The House of Tiny Tearaways.[2] Considered among the strongest of BBC Three's programmes by Stuart Murphy, then the channel's controller,[3] it was praised for reflecting "real day to day issues" in a government-commissioned report on the channel.[4][5] Little Angels was nominated for a Bafta award in 2005.[1] A book based on the series was published by the BBC in 2005, co-written by Byron and the show's executive producer, Sacha Baveystock.[6]
References
- ^ a b BBC News: Bafta TV Awards 2005: The winners (accessed 26 September 2007)
- ^ a b Aitkenhead D. 'Playtime's over' Guardian (8 September 2007) (accessed 26 September 2007)
- ^ Gibson O. 'We have to hold our nerve' Guardian (18 April 2005) (accessed 26 September 2007)
- ^ Review of BBC Three against Consents and Commitments (March 2004) (accessed 26 September 2007)
- ^ Wells M. 'BBC3 "trapped by youth obsession"' Guardian (14 October 2004) (accessed 26 September 2007)
- ^ Byron T, Baveystock S. Little Angels: The Essential Guide to Transforming Your Family Life and Having More Time with Your Children (BBC Books; 2005) (ISBN: 056351941X)
