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The Family

The Family

The Family was a 1974 BBC television series made by producer Paul Watson, and directed by Franc Roddam. It was a fly-on-the-wall documentary series, seen by many as the precursor to reality television. It was similar to an American documentary which had aired the previous year in 1973, called An American Family.

It followed the working-class Wilkins family of six of Reading, through their daily lives, warts and all, and culminated in the marriage of one of the daughters, which was plagued by fans and paparazzi alike.

The show was the basis for two parodies: Monty Python's Flying Circus, in their very last episode which aired 5 December 1974, featured a sketch called "The Most Awful Family in Britain 1974"; and Benny Hill, on one of his 1975 specials, did a takeoff called "That Family."

Margaret re-married and became Margaret Sainsbury; she died of a reported heart attack in Berkshire on 10 August 2008, aged 73.

The format was revived in 2008.

Created By
StatusEnded
Original NameThe Family
First Air DateJanuary 1, 1974
Last Air DateMarch 19, 1974
Seasons1
Episodes12
Episode Runtime 30min
LanguageEnglish
Original LanguageEnglish
Production Countries
Production Companies
NetworksBBC One
S01E12

Episode 12

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