Wife Swap

This article is about the television programme. For the subcultural sexual lifestyle, see wife swapping.

For the US version, see Wife Swap (U.S. series).

Wife Swap
Top: British Series 11 Intertitle
Format	Reality television
Created by	RDF
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel 4
Original run	1 January 2003 (2003-01-01) – 19 December 2009 (2009-12-19)
External links
Website

Wife Swap is a reality television program, originally produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4. Since 2004, a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network.

In the programme, two families, usually from different social classes and lifestyles, swap wives/mothers – and sometimes husbands – for two weeks. In fact, the programme will usually deliberately swap wives with dramatically different lifestyles, such as a messy wife swapping with a fastidiously neat one. Despite using a phrase from the swinging lifestyle, couples participating in the show do not share a bed with the "swapped" spouse while "swapping" homes.

In November 2009, Channel 4 announced that they had cancelled Wife Swap, and no new episodes of the show would be made for the channel. The final episode was broadcast in December 2009.

Synopsis

During the first week, the new wife must adhere to exactly the same rules and lifestyle of the wife she is replacing. Each wife leaves a house manual which explains her role in the family and the duties she holds. This almost always determines what rules the wives will apply at the "rules change ceremony".

During the second week, the new wives are allowed to establish their own rules, and their new families must adhere to these new household rules. It usually takes a while for the families to adjust to this policy, meanwhile the wives disburse a sum of money to the family they have become involved with, to do what the wives see fit to spend it on.

At the end of the two weeks, the two couples all meet together for the first time, and the wives, along with their husbands, discuss how they felt about the two weeks. This often descends into personal insults and has degenerated into violence at least twice. More often than not, however, both families reach toward a middle ground and express that they have learned from the experience. Sometimes, the table meeting is a very heartfelt and emotional time for the two families who sometimes have complete and mutual respect for each other. A few weeks later the cameras return to record what changes have occurred since the wife swap.

USA broadcast

See Wife Swap (U.S. series)

Spin-offs

Other countries and versions

Country	Title	Network	First Airdate
Australia	Wife Swap Australia	LifeStyle You	January 9, 2012
Belgium	De Nieuwe Mama
Chile	¿Quién cambia a quién? Intercambio de Esposas	Canal 13	March 14, 2006
Czech	Výměna Manželek	NOVA TV
Denmark	Par på prøve
France	On a échangé nos mamans	M6	January,13 2004
Germany	Frauentausch	RTL II	July 14, 2003
India	Maa Exchange	Sony	January 2011
Italy	Cambio moglie	Cielo	2009
Israel	אמא מחליפה Ima Mehelifah	Channel 2 Reshet	2005
Netherlands	Jouw vrouw, mijn vrouw	RTL4	Unknown
Poland	Zamiana żon	TV4	2007
Serbia	Menjam ženu	RTV Pink	July 2006.
Ukraine	Міняю жінку Minyayu zhinku	1 +1	March 8, 2010
United States	Wife Swap	ABC	September 26, 2004

Celebrity Wife Swap

There have been some celebrity versions of Wife Swap produced on the UK version of the series:

• Charles Ingram and his wife Diana swapped with Jade Goody of Big Brother and her then-partner Jeff Brazier
• Racing pundit John McCririck and his wife Jenny swapped with politician Edwina Currie and her husband John
• Magician Paul Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee swapped with journalist and radio host Vanessa Feltz and her fiancé Ben Ofoedu
• 1980s pop singer and Celebrity Big Brother star Pete Burns and his partner Michael Simpson swapped with former footballer Neil Ruddock and his partner Leah Newman
• Comedian Freddie Starr and his wife Donna swapped with Samantha Fox and her partner Myra Strattan
• 1980s pop singer Sinitta and her husband Andy swapped with former Coronation Street star Bruce Jones and his wife Sandra
• Soul singer Alexander O'Neal and his wife Cynthia swapped with wine critic, journalist and television personality Jilly Goolden and her husband Paul
• Rhona Cameron and her partner Suran swapped with fellow comedian Stan Boardman and his wife Viv
• Ron Atkinson and his wife Maggie swapped with Tessa Sanderson and her partner Densign

Notable episodes and special editions

Wife Swap has aired several unique episodes in its history.

UK

In 2005, Channel 4 broadcast two international versions of Wife Swap, one where a British family changed lifestyles with a German family, and then one where a British family changed lifestyles with an Australian family.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Channel 4 broadcast a version where two British families who happened to be living in Spain at the time swapped with one another.^{[citation needed]}

Boss Swap

A spin-off, Boss Swap, was broadcast as a series in the UK. A pilot for a US series was shown on ABC but was not commissioned. Husband Swap and Vacation Swap pilots were also broadcast in America, but were not picked up for series production. At least once, however, a husband and a live-in boyfriend swapped while the women stayed with their families.

Parodies

• Wife Swap was spoofed in a 2006 episode of The Simpsons, "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", which was written by and starred Ricky Gervais. It was also spoofed in an episode of Hope & Faith with Wynonna Judd guest-starring.
• In 2007, Richard Thomas's BBC Two series Kombat Opera Presents included a musical parody of the USA version of Wife Swap, under the title Spouse Change.
• In The Vicar of Dibley, Alice Tinker mentions going on the programme.
• An episode of Chappelle's Show broadcast a parody of Trading Spaces, entitled "Trading Spouses". This was filmed before the programme was broadcast. The skit featured a format similar to the show, but with sexual themes.
• MAD magazine had a wife swap spoof between The Simpsons and Family Guy's Griffin family.
• In 2009 during a week of EastEnders, Max Branning and Tanya Branning swapped lifestyles with Ian Beale and Jane Beale for a week.

Legal issues

Fraudulent activity

In her 2003 appearance on the programme, Lizzy Bardsley was shown to be living entirely on state benefits, which she continued to do without declaring payments she subsequently received for media work. Prosecuted and found guilty in 2005, she was sentenced to 80 hours community service and ordered to repay £4,879 in overpaid benefits. In February 2007, she was convicted of child cruelty charges, receiving an eight-month suspended sentence and a two-year supervision order.

See also

• Frauentausch (German version of Wife Swap)
• Holiday Showdown (like Wife Swap, but with holidays)
• Wife Swap - the U.S. series

References

Notes

External links

• Wife Swap UK at Channel4.com
• Boss Swap at Channel4.com
• RDF Media