cutting edge
daisy asquith
documentaries
my weird and wonderful family
48 mins, dandy films|ricochet for channel 4
Gay British millionaires Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow hit the headlines when their two children, Saffron and Aspen, were born to a surrogate mother in the US, using donor eggs and the couple's sperm. The pair were accused by some of 'going against nature' and 'shopping for the ultimate gay accessory'.
Brother Orlando was born four years later, using a frozen embryo. No mother figure has been involved in the children's upbringing, and Barrie and Tony want to keep it that way.
A decade on from Saffron and Aspen's births, Daisy films the family over the course of a year, as Tony and Barrie try for more babies. She charts Tony and Barrie's incredible, emotional journey and asks the older children what it's like growing up with two fathers ('Dad' and 'Daddy') and no mum, and how they feel about their new siblings.
The documentary follows the family as they select an egg donor from an online catalogue and talk to the pregnant surrogate mother via video link, before Barrie travels to America for the birth and brings the twins home.
Meanwhile, Saffron and Aspen celebrate their tenth birthdays - Saffron's presents include a pony and a mink coat - and the kids change schools after disgruntled parents object to Barrie playing the fairy godmother in the children's nativity play.
This intimate Cutting Edge documentary gets behind the headlines to paint a distinctive portrait of a unique family, and looks at how Tony and Barrie's single-minded determination to have children has affected them and their kids.
Broadcast 9pm Wednesday 21st April on Channel 4
Brother Orlando was born four years later, using a frozen embryo. No mother figure has been involved in the children's upbringing, and Barrie and Tony want to keep it that way.
A decade on from Saffron and Aspen's births, Daisy films the family over the course of a year, as Tony and Barrie try for more babies. She charts Tony and Barrie's incredible, emotional journey and asks the older children what it's like growing up with two fathers ('Dad' and 'Daddy') and no mum, and how they feel about their new siblings.
The documentary follows the family as they select an egg donor from an online catalogue and talk to the pregnant surrogate mother via video link, before Barrie travels to America for the birth and brings the twins home.
Meanwhile, Saffron and Aspen celebrate their tenth birthdays - Saffron's presents include a pony and a mink coat - and the kids change schools after disgruntled parents object to Barrie playing the fairy godmother in the children's nativity play.
This intimate Cutting Edge documentary gets behind the headlines to paint a distinctive portrait of a unique family, and looks at how Tony and Barrie's single-minded determination to have children has affected them and their kids.
Broadcast 9pm Wednesday 21st April on Channel 4
