My Big Fat Gypsy TV Series
It was the smash hit TV documentary of 2010, watched by almost everyone in the Gypsy and Traveller community and millions of others. Some loved the way it showed largely Irish Traveller weddings, others moaned that there were almost no Gypsies in it.
But whatever you thought of the documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, you may want to watch Channel 4 at 9pm on January 18th. Because Channel 4 have produced 5 more hours about Gypsy and Traveller culture to be shown over the next month. We here at Travellers Times don’t know what’s in it. Because Channel 4’s press office wouldn’t tell us or show us.
Series Producer Vicky Hamburger had this to say about the difficulties of trying to make a series about Romany Gypsy and Irish Traveller community: “I wasn’t prepared for was how lively the process would be. Making a series with people who live outside the regular rules of society has been exhilarating. Time and again, having planned a shoot, whole teams would wait around on location for days, being repeatedly stood up by our contributors."
" In one extreme case, a family had left their site when the director turned up to film. With phones not being answered and a vague clue they’d moved to Kent, he spent 48 hours touring the county’s caravan sites. He never did find them.”
“When we would eventually pin down contributors and question where they’d been, we would often hear: “We’re gypsies - we can’t commit.” And therein lays the difficulty of making a series with people who seem to have no concept of forward planning.”
“I am often asked if I now feel more or less affectionate towards these people. Honestly, I am full of fondness for them. The UK Gypsy and Traveller communities are a spirited group with admirable family values and strength in the face of adversity.”
For those that can’t wait to see what they did manage to film, the Channel 4 website has some sneak previews at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-fat-gypsy-weddings. But they do seem to have repeated the same mistake of the original programme by largely filming Irish Travellers, who make up perhaps just 10% of Britain’s Gypsy and Traveller community, which already has some viewers steaming.
“It is so annoying that this program is called BIG FAT GYPSY WEDDING.” says one person who has commented on the channel 4 website. “The people featured are not Gypsies at all. Gypsy is the name given to Romany people who travelled across Europe from India. This program just gives people more ammunition to throw at the Romany community, I being one of them. All this program does is embarrass and humiliate the Romany Gypsy community. Why don't you call it MY BIG FAT IRISH TRAVELLER WEDDING as it isn't anything to do with us? I can trace my Romany ancestors back 500 years in this country. Can any of the people featured in this country?”
But others are definitely looking forward to the biggest ever series about Gypsies and Travellers to be made for British TV. Geena has also commented on the Channel 4 website, she says: “I love this and I have told everyone to watch it because as a gypsy myself I hate the way I get singled out because of who I am. I would love to have that sort of dress. I have drawn mine already and got it made. Only 3 more weeks to the big day. Can’t wait.”
Please tell us what you thought about each programme below.