All language subtitles for Strangers.Making.Babies.S01E02.1080p.ALL4.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN

You can't go on a date and go,
number-one or number-two question,

"So when do you want children?"

It's against the rules of dating.

Hello. Hello.
How are you doing?

This - you can break
all those rules.

Human beings have been making babies
for ever.

How are you doing?
Nice to meet you.

But how some of us do it
is changing.

You have beautiful hair.
And you have a great beard!

70,000 people in the UK

are thought to be advertising
themselves online

as a prospective co-parent.

It's all a bit surreal, isn't it?

No, no, just two people meeting...
having a child.

Strangers having babies together
outside a sexual relationship...

THEY LAUGH

As you can see,
we got on really well.

..goes against the fundamental
traditions of romance.

I wanted to meet somebody
and fall in love.

But it hasn't happened.

It's now or never.

I need to have children,
and I won't have children.

Now, without the complication
of finding love...

If it's turkey baster at home,
then so be it.

..these would-be parents
are throwing themselves

into a ground-breaking scheme...

It's a combination of science,

but also looking at the people.

..a first of its kind, run by
fertility and dating experts.

If you can laugh and share,

that's hopefully going
to see you through. Yeah.

They're out to prove that when
it comes to parenthood,

there's a new dawn.

I feel really nervous now,
I feel really scared.

But does redefining relationships...

He comments a lot about my looks.

..go against human nature?

I wouldn't say romance
is off the cards.

And can a platonic arrangement...

This decision is huge.
People don't do this every day.

He's such an amazing guy too.

..actually lead to making babies?

We are completely on different
tracks.

I'm afraid of losing him.

Recently, we're seeing
a lot of people

who are looking at co-parenting.

Fertility expert Marie Wren runs
a unique co-parent matching project.

Sounds amazing.

So far...

I'm very aware that
I'm running out of time.

..38-year-old Sarah...

I have a bit of a wish list,

..has met three potential
co-parents.

I'd like a child to mirror my
values, I suppose. Yes.

Honesty and integrity is key for me.

Yeah.

I was training to be a yoga teacher.

I love yoga! I love yoga as well.

I wouldn't want to rush a
relationship

for the sake of having a baby.

34-year-old nanny Venicia...

I'm from Croydon.
You are not from West Croydon.

..made a big impression
on dad-of-two JP...

Listen, I know what people
look like from West Croydon.

I did find her attractive.

Hi, Venicia.

..and also with musician...

SHE SLURPS

..Nigel.

I'm impressed.

On a romantic level,
I feel a little bit like,

"Oh, you could do much better
than me,"

But Nigel's keeping something
from Venicia.

I didn't go into details,

but I don't have the highest
sperm count.

As Venicia enters the second
stage of Marie's project,

she'll be invited to get to know
her two chosen matches better.

Stage one of the project
was all about judging

the initial connection
in a neutral setting.

I found Venicia to be very
entertaining

and we had a lot of banter.

But the objective, after all that,

is to try and find out the next
levels of the person.

Stage two will see the men inviting
the women into their worlds,

because you can learn more
about somebody if you see them

in their own surroundings

or in their favourite place.

We've certainly broken the ice.
That's the important thing.

I'm really looking forward
to getting to know her

in a relaxed environment.

They can start to talk about
the things that may be important

if they're going to travel
this journey together.

OK, here it is.

Meanwhile, as part of the project,
Venicia is having a fertility check.

So, let's see if we can find
your ovaries.

When I was 22,
I was severely overweight.

The doctor said, "If you don't
lose weight, you'll find it hard

"to have children."

After that, I lost ten stone -
I had that banding stuff -

and then had a whole different life.

But I'm not sure what my fertility
is like.

There are follicles there,

but I'm afraid I'm not
seeing significant numbers.

I never pictured my life
without having children.

If we look at your results,

it's on the low side for your age.

If you weren't to conceive quickly,

it would be worth moving into
treatment sooner rather than later.

Sooner rather than later?
Sooner rather than later.

Up until this process...

..feels like I've got
all the time in the world.

But now that I've had
fertility results,

I actually realise that it isn't.

Get moving in the next
two or three months.

Sorry, one second.

DOG BARKS

There's dog hair everywhere.

47-year-old Nigel has
invited Venicia to his house

for their second meet-up.

One of my goals in life
is to be a father,

but I can't just
sit around for ever saying,
"Oh, it will happen one day."

No, I don't believe in that at all.

You've got to go out
and look for what you want.

Nigel is a lovely guy,

so hopefully his home environment
would be a good opportunity

to discuss fertility
and our expectations.

Tonight, I really want to know
what Venicia thinks of me,

if there's any romance on the cards
and talk about the ins and outs,

if you pardon the expression.

Hello. Hey! Oh, my God.

Do you drink this? I will do.
Thank you so much.

You can go now. I'm...
SHE LAUGHS

Is this your evening? Come in,
come in. It's freezing. Come in.

Ah... What would you like to drink?

Can I be super boring
and have a cup of tea?

Perfect.

I come from a very big family,
so there's always babies around.

I've always imagined having
two or three children.

Only time will tell

on how I make that work as a
family unit, I guess.

I would like a dab
of tea bag in my milk.

You basically want a tea latte.

When I first met Venicia,
it was it was strange

because we were in
a dating scenario.

We were dressed up nicely.
We were in a lovely venue.

This is my... Well, you could call
it my office, I suppose.

Oh, look.

If that had been a date,
then, yeah, I was kind of sold

within ten minutes, if I'm honest.

Are you self-taught, right?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's my passion. I love it.

Do you play? No.

Would you like to? Hm... Yes,
you would. Come on, sit down.

No, the pressure! Oh no.
I'm a terrible student. Sit down.

SHE PLAYS A NOTE
There you go. C. You just played C.

There you go.

SHE LAUGHS

That is really cool!
I told you how easy it is.

That is so cool.
Let's go and get a drink. Yep.

This is nice and cosy.

You're welcome.

How do you feel about the process
so far?

Where are you...? Where are
you at in your feelings

co-parenting-wise?

I am excited about being
a co-parent.

I'm really, really intrigued
to see if it can work.

And, yes, I would like to have
a baby sooner rather than later.

So you're actually...? You're
feeling quite proactive about it?

Oh, absolutely. OK, that's
interesting. I am as well.

I'm feeling... Oh, OK. ..like

I don't want to beat around
the bush really. No, me too.

I want to, like...
If the tree's right,

I want to bark up the right tree,
you know what I mean?

SHE LAUGHS
I don't even know
if that's a phrase.

However, before we go any further,
this is something that...

So... I should tell you.

So when I came off my date
with you last, when we met,

I don't know if it was you, or I
don't know if it was my own mind,

but I left that date feeling

I...I didn't want to co-parent
platonically.

I can't help it.

She's attractive and funny
and, you know, a great talker.

So what I was basically thinking
was, if I met somebody like you,

that would kind of like
sort everything out.

That would be perfect.

There's no two ways about it.
I really, really like her.

And I can see what
a perfect mum you'd be.

Oh, thank you.

I can see that.

So...

..would you like to co-parent
platonically or romantically?

Venicia, before we go any further,
I wanted to ask...

Um...

..would you like to co-parent
platonically or romantically?

OK, so...

I know how feelings can
get mixed up.

Um...

Then the best interests of the child

isn't necessarily
what's being advocated for.

Um, I think...

OK, so I think I've been single
so long,

dating is not a priority.

My priority is to co-parent

with someone who wants
to have a child, like me.

And if something grows from that,
then that's great

because we'll have the child

and we're going to go through
all these scans

and doctors' things together,

so you inevitably form a bond.

So if I can just paraphrase you,

and stop me if I get it wrong...
No, go ahead.

..A relationship hasn't been on your
agenda for quite a long time.

Now your focus is on having a
child.

"I'm not going to chase it,

"I'm not going to make it my
priority

"to have a romantic involvement
with somebody". Correct.

All credit to him that he was
up front about it and honest.

I like him, he's a great guy.

He's a great guy,

but I think that it can make
decision making in the future

really very tricky.

OK, so my disclosure... Yes.

My fertility results -

I was told that my ovarian reserves

weren't as high as it should be for
my age,

which was a bit shocking.
I was like, "What does that mean?"

Oh, OK. So this is kind of why time
is of the essence kind of thing.

Yes. It's not like, "Agh! Someone,
someone, anyone, I want a baby".

Not like that. But being proactive
about it. Exactly.

Yeah. Um, so...

So I told you before, I think,
I've been through IVF. Yeah. Yeah.

It wasn't great.

I have slow swimmers.

My chances of having a child
are not great,

but it's still possible.

If you take it out of 50,

26, 27 was my highest.

The most recent fertility test
I've had done, I was 12.

He has fertility issues as well,
so that could be a massive issue.

I knew how I felt when I got
the news about my fertility.

It's such a personal thing.

The fact he was so honest,
that's what actually humbled me.

OK, so for me, I've kind
of had to think about, like,

"OK, it's not going to be as easy
as everyone else".

And if there's a possibility
you can father a child,

then I think you'll be a great dad.

Let's go forward.

Hopefully, we'll see each other
again and talk more.

That would be cool with me.
That would be really cool.

Yeah.

And thanks for being so candid
and open.

Oh, great, OK.
My goodness, it's so cold.

Yeah, get that heater on
and have a very safe journey home.

Thank you. Bye! Bye.

It was lovely to see her.

It was just fun to spend time with
her, to be honest.

I kind of like her.

And I'm not sure she likes me,
maybe, in the same way.

We are really alike.
It's really freaky.

Telling me that his fertility
wasn't what he expected,

I think... we did bond over that.

Yeah.

I think we're totally on the same
page with what we want,

and, yeah, I just really want
to see her again and talk more

and really kind of get to
the nitty-gritty of things.

Ready, go!

Nanny Venicia is well into stage
two of the co-parenting project,

having second meetings
with two of her matches.

Meanwhile, the final woman to enrol

is heading to meet Marie
and matchmaker Gillian McCallum.

OK, so Trinity is 39

and she's a relationship manager
for a document solutions company.

I think she's quite
an adventurous soul.

Yes, she's recently been
to Everest base camp.

Goodness.

She certainly sounds like
she's up for a challenge.

I think she did look at
the possibility of having a child

on her own, but I think she feels
it's incredibly important

that she has a child...

But they have a father.
Yeah, absolutely. OK.

I'm Trinity.

I'm an Essex girl,
quite proud of that.

Been single for seven years.

Like, no one gets it.

I don't get it. Everyone goes,
"Why do you think you're single?"

I don't bloody know!

It was always the dream world

that I would have a "normal"
relationship where there was love

and the children would follow that.

Hello, it's Trinity
for Marie and Gillian?

I'm 40 this year, so there
is a bit of a time limit.

Maybe that loving part will
happen in ten years' time.

Well, that'll be too late
for a family.

This is Trinity. Trinity,
lovely to meet you.

If this goes well
and I get a family,

it will be absolutely life-changing.

I'm really keen to find
out

what made you decide to look at
co-parenting.

I have wanted children
for as long as I can remember.

I've had pretty long-term
relationships

and I always knew I wanted children,

but then they decided
that that wasn't for them.

Two or three years ago, I started
looking at sperm donation

and then I got really sick
with pneumonia

and I suddenly realised
it's not fair on a child

to do this on my own.

There needs to be someone else
that can support me.

What do your friends and family
think about all of this?

Dad passed away four years ago
and Mum passed away in August.

Oh, I am sorry. So the end of last
year was really tough

and quite traumatic.

At the same time as sort of
grieving for my mum,

I started grieving for the fact
that I'd never have children.

It's really important to know,
you're not viewing this as dating.

This is not about finding the right
partner

who's going to do the right things
in the morning

and bring you breakfast in bed

and all of that kind of stuff.

Yeah, I keep telling myself I'm not
going to go, "Oh, he's fit!"

Right. That's what we've got
to throw out the window. Yeah.

I am looking for someone
who is loving and kind.

I probably want someone quite sporty

and someone who will teach
our children good values.

We have selected a few men for you.

Knowing what's important to Trinity
in a co-parent,

Gillian has matched her with some
men already in the process.

So first of all, we've got Ian.

Now, he is almost identical
on the science side,

emotional intelligence, to you.

That's really great.

It is kind of strange
meeting two women

to talk about
having a child together.

But I think by meeting more than one
person, you can kind of tease out

the things that are important to me
and that I'm looking for.

So then we've got Jean-Paul.

Interestingly, of this group,

he is the one who's actually been
married before and has children.

Is he a bit older?

He's a little bit older,

but he's still within your age
range. OK.

I think it's great to still carry
on meeting other people,

but having met Venicia,
it would probably be quite difficult

for someone to sort of get
to that same level.

But hopefully it will happen,
you know,

give me some kind of comparison.

He also has strong parenting
compatibility with you.

Fantastic.

The last person that I'd like
to introduce you to, Nigel,

he's got this kind of upbeat
personality

that I think fits very well
with you as well.

Great stuff.

I think keeping your options
open is hugely important.

It was a great meeting with Venicia,
but as far as I'm concerned,

there's no question of loyalty
to anybody at this stage.

These are the people we are going
to be introducing you to.

Fantastic, thank you. I'm excited!
OK, good.

After tonight, Trinity will decide

which two men she's most compatible
with and if they feel the same,

they'll move on to stage two
of the project together.

It almost doesn't feel real.

It could be the start of a family.

If it all goes as we would like it
to,

I'm going to have to spend
the next 30, 40, 50-odd years

having a relationship
with this person.

So it's vital that we can connect
pretty much straight away.

I want to make a big change
in my life and a big decision,

and there is no bigger change
or bigger decision than this.

Being a father is something
I've wanted to do for a long time.

Being gay, you don't have
the same ability, I guess,

to procreate in a relationship.

Hello! Hello.
I'm Ian. Nice to meet you.

And I think as you get older,

you realise that your opportunities
are maybe more limited.

So how are you doing,
are you all right?

It's a bit mad. It is, isn't it?

I'm at the time in my life now where
I really need to make it happen.

So where do we even start?
I don't even know.

Tell me about you.

So I live in Woodford Green,

which is the Essex end
of the Central Line.

Whereabouts are you?
So I live in Manchester, actually.

Oh, OK. Yeah.

Hi, can I get you a drink?

Could I please get a vodka
and tonic?

I'll just get a red wine, please.

Thank you. What's your normal
red wine you go for?

I don't really often drink red wine.

It gives me, like, a red face,

so maybe I'll have to stop
at one glass.

I'll let you know!
I'll let you know.

To be honest, I'm not short
of people to go out with.

It is by choice,

but I think I'd like to go down
the co-parenting route.

Hello. Hello.

Jean-Paul? Jean-Paul. Trinity.

Nice to... meet you.

Nice to meet you.

The end goal is for you to have
a child with someone,

which means meeting, as you know,

as many people as possible
in that situation.

So that's not something
you want to take lightly.

How are you feeling? Yeah, good.

I'm all good. Yeah? Yeah, you?

Yeah, I'm good.

So I had an early start.
You know there's 6am starts...

Meeting starting at 6am
or getting up at 6am?

No, no, getting up at 6am.
That's normal! Is it?

My alarm goes off at 5.10
most mornings.

5.10? It just takes me ages
to get ready.

I've got a bit more hair than you.

Oh, we're going there, are we?

In terms of criteria
for a co-parent,

work ethic is so vital to me.

What do you do?

So I head up a sales division for
a company that sells photocopiers

and I absolutely love what I do.

I feel like I know what someone's
kind of character is going to be

off the back of their work ethic.

So what do you do?
I set up a radio station.

Oh, wow.

It's the UK's biggest LGBT+
radio station.

That's amazing.

You know, it's something
I'm really proud of.

Oh, my goodness, that is something
to be really proud of.

Could I please get a vodka and
tonic?

Well, as she's having alcohol,

I was going to go just for juice,

but I think I'll go
for some white wine, please.

Thank you. No, I'm joking. I was
going to have white wine anyway!

So what is it you do for fun?

I've always been quite sporty.

I did a 100 kilometre walk in 24
hours. I did London to Brighton.

100 kilometres? Yeah.

In 24 hours? Were you just, like,
walking nonstop, practically?

Yeah, pretty much.

Sport teaches you to win,
it teaches you to lose.

It teaches you to be a team player.

It's so good, it's so good.

I've done a lot of training
over the years.

I've done boxing training,
Thai boxing.

I've done more intensive training.
I love the boxing classes.

I've got zebra-print boxing gloves.

I absolutely love boxing training.
Zebra-print boxing gloves? Yeah.

I want the co-parenting partner

to have similar values around sport.

At the weekend I went to the gym,
I played tennis,

had a golf lesson
and then had a dance lesson.

I was never very sporty,
I don't think.

Probably because I hated PE
at school, I literally hated it.

So, yeah, my mum used to write
notes

so I didn't have to go to PE
at school.

If they don't see the point of
sport,

then I shouldn't shut my mind off
to anything, I don't think.

I've got to be open-minded to that.

I didn't actually come out to my mum
until quite late, actually.

Did she know? She said no,
but I think she did.

Meeting three strangers is Trinity.

Dad was from Trinidad. There are
three hills in Trinidad

called the Trinity Hills. OK.

That's where my name comes from.
Oh!

And she'll potentially have a baby
with one of them.

My mum went to my grandma,

she went, "I've got something to
tell you about Ian. Ian's gay."

And my grandma went,
"What? Ian's dead?"

She misheard.

So from that point,
anything was better.

So...

Aww. It's been so nice to meet you.
Yes, great to meet you.

Yeah, you too.

He's not as sporty as I am,

but we had a giggle.
It was brilliant.

It went well, I think.

Having met both Sarah and Trinity,
I feel really, really excited.

I can definitely, you know,
at least feel

that there is an opportunity there
to move forward with it.

So what's brought you to
co-parenting?

I always envisioned I would get
married, I'd have three kids.

It just hasn't happened. OK.

And I just haven't met someone
where it's worked out. OK.

And that's why I'm kind
of here, really.

With dating,
you just get later and later

before the opportunity

to have children actually
comes your way.

But my mum was 42 when she had me,
so I'm kind of thinking,

"Please have the same genes as her,
please."

During my marriage, I actually
had children. Oh, amazing.

And they're kind of becoming
very independent,

and it's left me with a feeling
of, like, I still haven't finished

having my family,
do you know what I mean? Yeah.

I'd spent every day with my kids

up to the time of divorce.
Every day.

When I didn't see my kids,
I would see

their clothes on the floor
and I would cry.

Because that's how much
I missed them.

The time has absolutely flown.
It sure has.

Thank you very much.

Yeah, you know,
have a lovely evening.

JP was very confident,
seemed really friendly.

Take care. Bye-bye.

Very much family-orientated.

There's a lot of genuine warmth
in there.

First impression is that

she's definitely a serious runner
in that respect.

I've been on two meetings,
with Venicia and with Trinity,

and both have gone well.

It would just be good to get some
more time with both of them

and see exactly how I feel later on.

All of us. Three of us.

That sounds weird.

How do I describe myself? I'm 47.

I don't have a job, and
at the moment I can't drive a car.

So it's kind of, you know...
It's a hard sell.

I can go from zero to 100mph
quite quickly.

I'm very rarely quiet.

Hello. Hi, Trinity?

Yes. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too. I'm Nigel.

I use ten words
when I only need to use one.

It's all a bit surreal, isn't it?
No, no. Just two people meeting,

having a child...

I'll rein it in a bit
during this meeting.

Hi, guys. Hi. Hey there. Hi.

Could I get please a second vodka
and tonic, please?

I'll have one of those as well.

So tell me what you do.

Er, I'm unemployed, unwashed.
You know, like...

I can see you're definitely
not unwashed.

Oh, OK. That's a good thing.
Well, don't get too close.

I didn't run my business
the way I should have done.

I did everything myself
and it made me ill.

Yeah. I don't know anyone
who worked harder than me.

I was in the motor trade and I
kind of got burnt out, you know,

had a kind of mini breakdown,
was what happened.

And I just went, "I can't
do this any more." So gave it up.

I haven't had to work hard
for a living for four years.

So right now, yeah, I'm a lazy sod.

It sounds like a lack of ambition,
but let's just say, like,

money was no object.
Would you have to work?

I could definitely amuse myself
with golf and sport. You play golf?

Yeah. I love it.
So you got all the gear?

I've got my pink sparkly balls,
so I'm happy.

You've got pink sparkly balls. Yeah.
OK!

Humour is essential.

That's how lots of people
communicate.

I've seen pink before - not sparkly.

Well, I'll happily have a game
with you

any time you like.
Yeah, let's do it.

In a co-parenting scenario,

you've kind of got to be of the same
personality type

and mental thought type.

Forget co-parenting. Where would
you like to be in two years' time?

In my dream world, I marry a prince

and we live happily ever after
with three children.

That's whole, "He'll do," thing,
or, "She'll do,"

is just crackers to me.

Love for me is just so important.

To be honest, every single day,
I wake up, I think,

"Oh, maybe today will be the day
that I meet the love of my life."

It should be boom.
But you must have experienced

the fireworks. I've had the boom.
That's why...

So you want the boom again.
Yeah.

I think I'm one of those people
that gets it...

I get a boom too quick and then
I realise it wasn't a boom.

So what kind of dad
do you think you'll be?

Naughty, I suppose. Great word.

I want to be a 24/7 parent.

I want to devote the next ten,
20 years of my life

to something really, really
worthwhile.

For me, it's all about family.

I don't care if your family is...
It can be unconventional.

It can be unconventional.

As long as it's a family and
as long as there's love. Exactly.

It's been so lovely to meet you.

Really good, really enjoyed it.
It's been really good fun.

Because of his personality

and because we had lots
to talk about,

definitely see how things progress.

Thank you so much.

All right, mate?

There is a lot of potential there.

It was enjoyable. It was fun.
Interesting.

Trinity struck me as somebody
who's extremely driven.

Venicia came across as someone
vivacious and fun

without being annoying.

A very different but hugely
enjoyable experience

with both of them.

He's quite opinionated,
I'm quite opinionated,

so that could be a good thing or a
bad thing, I'm not quite sure yet.

This next stage is really key.

It's a massive decision.

I have to get this right for me,

for my co-parent, and most
importantly, for my child.

For the next stage of the process
to be successful,

the participants
really need to be frank

about some very personal
information.

And so choosing the right
two men going forwards

is going to be very important.

Hello? Hello, it's Sarah here to see
Gillian and Marie?

38-year-old Sarah has already met
all three of her matches...

Door is open.

..so is returning to the agency
to choose the two

she'd like to meet up with again.

I'm so pleased to see you again.

We've both been really looking
forward to getting your feedback

on the men. Yeah. And of course,
I've got a little bit of feedback

for you as well. Nice.

I'm a little bit nervous.

For me, the biggest challenge
is trying to find somebody

that I have this level of connection
that I feel will last.

Forever.

It's a clean sweep,

because the gentleman were
completely blown away by you. Aww.

Now, the first chat was Ian. Yeah.

I'd like a child
to mirror my values, I suppose.

Honesty and integrity
is key for me. Yeah.

I think some of my values
are quite traditional. Oh, me too.

100%.

Ian I thought was wonderful.

I felt that we had a lot in common

and I really felt that values

was something that would never
be an issue between the two of us.

But negative would be the distance,

because Manchester is that much
further away from me.

OK, so then we've got Chris N.

I would like to be the main carer.

OK. How about you?
I would want as

much as you would want
to be the caregiver. Yes.

Chris will be
the most incredible father.

But, you know,
we discussed logistics.

He knew what he wanted, you know,
the split,

the almost a time-share
of a potential child. OK.

And then, of course, Chris M.

He was wonderful.

I was born in London,
till I was about ten,

and then lived in Wales. Can you do
Who's Coat's That Jacket?

Whose coat is that jacket, love?
Amazing!

Where's she to now, then?
She's by here.

I laughed so much with Chris around.

He's not that far away from me,

and I could picture him
around my friends and family.

Well, Sarah, is there any one of
them that you would rule out

at this stage?

I think for me, er...

..I would rule out Chris N.

Although I loved meeting him,

I think that there would be
much more negotiation

to try and find
a co-parenting arrangement

that would work for both of us.
OK. OK.

Incredible start though, isn't it?
It is unbelievable.

I'm so lucky to have such
incredible men as options.

Sarah now needs to meet her
potential matches for a second time

so that they can get to know
each other more deeply

and open up about
a lot more personal information.

I'm looking forward to
getting to know Sarah better.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

OK.

And finding out if we've got
the right sort of things in common.

After we first met...

You try not to build your
expectations up too much,

and then suddenly you go,

maybe in a year's time
you could have a child!

Getting to know people
can be a really slow process.

So everyone in the project
needs to be really disciplined

about telling the other person

everything that's important
to know about themselves.

This is my, you could say
my pride and joy of Lego,

because in this Millennium Square
that they released

for the 10th anniversary,

they released the first-ever
Lego baby.

After initially hitting it off with
Sarah, 40-year-old academic Chris

has more to share.

In our conversation,
we mentioned health,

but we didn't really talk about
my health.

Last year, I got meningococcal
bacterial infection.

I then had sepsis.
I nearly died in hospital.

It was a very close call

and, you know, parents rushing
to be at your bedside.

I was always scared of dying,

but the bit of me
was clinging on going,

"I want love and family and a baby."

And it sort of got me through
a very difficult time.

You know,
I've clearly got to tell Sarah

about last year
and my health stuff,

see how she feels about that,

because that's quite a significant
part of my life these days.

In the back of my mind, I think
it might be the end of the line.

Hopefully it's not,
because I'll be devastated.

Who's a good boy?

Are you Daddy's little prince?

Chris is preparing for his
second meeting

with potential co-parent Sarah.

I'm really looking forward
to meeting Chris again.

I just straight up
enjoyed his company.

But making sure that we're both
on the same page

in terms of parenting
is suddenly becoming

a little bit more important to me.

Who are we going to see?
Who are we going to see?

Hey, how are you? Hello.
I'm very, very good.

Nice to see you again. And you too.

This is Newton. Newton, say hello.
Hi, Newton!

Ooh, aren't you a little cutie pie?

Nice to see you again. And you too.
It's cold. I know!

It's so chilly, isn't it?

Let's get a coffee. Let's do it.

I should probably say,
after our meeting,

I was totally mesmerised by you.

Aw! I thought you were very charming
and sweet and all those things

I'm looking for in someone who
I would want to co-parent with.

I was blown away when I met you.

I can imagine you at a family party
just fitting in.

That's nice. And that, to me,

because the way I would like it to
work, you know,

I don't want it to be
you have the child on these days,

I have it on those days.

It's be really nice to be able
to say,

"Well, this is happening
with the family."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Come along. Come and join.
Share in it. Yeah, yeah.

This is pretty, isn't it? Lovely.

So I've been wanting to tell you...

..I, last year, had quite
a traumatic year... Oh, no!

..which is my main sort of
decision maker,

why I definitely know
I want children

and I'm going to do what I need
to do to have children. Yeah.

I was married for about seven,
eight years.

He wasn't that keen
on having children,

but you always think you're going
to change someone's mind.

HE LAUGHS

I think children or not
having children

was the final force
that broke us up.

So my husband decided
he wanted a divorce.

About six weeks later, I ended up
with meningitis. Oh, no!

And I got sepsis.

SHE GASPS

And I nearly died in hospital. No!

Yeah, it was quite...
I'm so sorry to hear that.

And it was a rare one,

so it did liver, kidneys and heart.

And so my heart function
was at, like, 10%.

So it's left me with a long-term
heart condition. Really?

We all worry about our own health

and suddenly you need to know
all of these things

about a potential co-parent as well.

It's not genetic.

No, no. So it's not something
I would pass on.

So... You've had a lot to deal
with in the last year.

You know, it makes you value life
and it makes you go,

"Well, if I want children, why
shouldn't I have this thing?" Yes.

Thank you very much for sharing.
Like, that...

That means a lot.

To put your mind at ease,
that doesn't change anything for me.

I think you deserve a hug.
You poor thing! Thanks very much.

Oh, my God.

I'm so sorry that you've had
to go it through.

Maybe if I hadn't gone through it,
I wouldn't be here doing this.

Well, exactly. Yeah.

The journey that we're
going on now, for me,

it's making sure
that our connection's right.

And we are meant to be bringing
a child into the world together.

This is me doing yoga. Blimey!

That was my Tinder profile picture.

It showed you the goods!

Right, guys, no messing about
tonight. Serious faces on.

For everyone involved in the
project, everyday life goes on...

This way, boys.

Do you know the way to the park?

..as they each consider who they're
best suited to have a child with.

Right. Do you lot fancy
tuna sandwiches?

The decline in female fertility puts
women under huge pressure.

That's good technique. Well done.

So by the time they've thought about
co-parenting,

women are very aware
of their biological clock.

Smell.

Mm!

In spite of this,
I think it's important

that nobody makes these decisions
too quickly

so they can hopefully make
the right choices.

Stop, stop, stop, stop.
Howard, what's going on?

Is there something going on at home?
You're very off the pace.

A few weeks after Trinity's
initial meetings...

Nice to see you again.
Nice to see you.

..she's back to discuss
which two men to take forward

to the next stage
with matchmaker Gillian.

I'm going to give you
a little reminder.

Tell me about Nigel.
Brilliant.

There was probably a little bit
of a connection,

like a bit of an undercurrent
connection, a bit of chemistry.

Are you telling me that you
fancied him?

Er... A little!

It wasn't like "Boom!"

But it could be a grower.

He doesn't work.

I think he sees him as being
the stay-at-home dad

and I will be the person
that kind of goes out to work.

I need to talk to him
a little bit more

about how he kind of
would see that working.

OK, Jean-Paul.

Yes, I felt like I could have
chatted to him for hours.

I also like that
he's got kids already.

And for our child to have a family

where there's older children
involved in it,

how fantastic is that?

OK, the last chat.

Tell me about your meeting with Ian.

So the chat was really easy-going,

but I didn't feel like I had as much
in common with him as the others,

so I think that probably
rules him out.

OK. But I would like to see
the others again. Good.

I'm pleased with that.

So am I!

Ruling someone out of the process...

Just... Just reality, isn't it?

I will not try and force something
that isn't there.

Follow my instincts -
that's how I live my life.

To know that Trinity doesn't want
to move forward is disappointing.

I enjoyed spending time with her,
but if I'm being honest,

there was something I think
with Sarah

that possibly felt more natural.

And I'm very much looking forward
to meeting up with them.

Yeah. Just to see how it goes.
Who knows?

As Trinity has chosen the same
two men as Venicia,

they could end up
vying for the same person.

That smells good.

To work out if JP is the right
choice for her,

Venicia is meeting him
for a second time

at his favourite park.

With our first meet,
we had a great time.

We got on really, really well,

but I don't think
we asked a lot of questions.

She's got a lot of personality.

There's definitely a lot there
to be attracted to,

so I wouldn't say
she's off the radar romantically.

Earlier in the project, Venicia
rebuffed her other match Nigel's

romantic advances
to keep things platonic.

Hello!

You all right? Hi, yeah.
Let's go for a little walk.

Yeah, let's do it. It looks
gorgeous. See if you like the place.

There's some nice flowers up there.
Some roses. I see those big roses.

If this was a romantic setting,
I'd grab one for you. Aw!

Are you hinting at something, JP?

You'll forgive me, actually.
I am going to do this.

Oh, my God.

I am going to do this.
You're so cheesy!

I am going to do this, look.

Let's get rid of that.

You're ridiculous.

So, I've been raised by two parents
that are still together

and they've done obviously
a cracking job on me.

Yes? And, you know, me in turn,
co-parenting with my ex partner

done a cracking job on our own kids.
Yeah.

And so... You've got good experience
in it then. I do.

I learned how to communicate better.

I do believe in the concept of
family and, you know, meeting

each other and having and raising
kids together in a romantic setting.

Yeah.

Just right now, you know, I feel
like the main focus is the baby.

So JP and Nigel,
both of them have expressed

that they'd like to have a potential
romantic relationship with me.

I don't want the onus to be

"Let's focus on building
a relationship."

Whatever romance stuff,
there will be time for that.

How do you think it would work,
then?

So would our child come to me
for a week and then go to you?

It's so tricky.

Like, I know it would be way easier
if the co-parents lived together.

OK. But I... This is just the brief
kind of thinking.

Co-parenting living together,
that's...

That's now... That's marriage.

But this is for when the baby's
first born. OK. Logistics.

Yeah. I mean the first three months,
it would be amazing

to have the support
of the co-parent as well.

I never thought of that, actually.
It's a good idea.

I wouldn't say romance is off
the cards between me and her.

I think there's a potential.

Yeah, I think there's a potential.

It's so flattering.
Like, he's so sweet.

I think he's kind of made
himself clear.

See you soon. I'll see you soon.
Bye-bye. Bye.

I like that he's got a lot of love
to give.

It's kind of left me
a little bit confused

as to where I am at in this process.

Because I had my second meet also
with Nigel.

I know the back of my mind,
like, I'll have to choose one.

That's kind of... It's going
to make me cry, actually!

Sorry, I'm going to cry.

Give me a hug, give me a hug.

Next time...

Looking forward to meeting Chris?
I am.

..introducing friends and family...

Do you think she wanted
a 50/50 split?

..raises questions.

Well, I wonder what that did mean.

It's coming to crunch time, I guess.

And decisions... How the hell
you're supposed to know

whether you're doing the right
thing or not I don't know.

..cause tension.

Why are we here?

Or at least why are you here?

Because I know why I'm here.

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