The World's Strictest Parents
The World's Strictest Parents is an international television franchise reality series developed by Twenty Twenty with its original broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Three. There are nippet clips from many of the episodes, largely the UK, US and Australian broadcasts: however, these snippets, in some cases, were just whole episodes broken into smaller notable highlights of an episode. As of 2019, this has been extended to entire episodes, starting with the UK version and then moving to the Australian version. These episodes, in some cases, are not complete re-uploads of the broadcast: for example, the rundown of the teens at the beginning has been cut in some cases, depending on the teens who were broadcast in the episode. In addition, censorship has been done with profanity and surnames of certain people. The censorship has taken the form of either blurring the mouth during swearing and surname or profanity and names being bleeped in the audio tracks. Alongside these edits, the ending credits sequence is not included.
United Kingdom
Unruly British teenagers are sent to live with strict families in an experiment to try to change their behaviour. Generally they spend 10 days, later 7 days, with their host parents trying to live by the latter's rules.All series episodes were broadcast on a weekly basis.
Series 1 (2008)
Series 1, which was filmed in the summer of 2008, had six episodes and aired from 18 September 2008 to 23 October 2008 on BBC Three.| Episode | First Aired | Teenagers | Family | Notes | BBC Episode Guide |
| 1 | 18 September 2008 | Naomi Fisher and Ross Torry | Mark and Lynn Garnett in Birmingham, Alabama, US | In the first episode, the teenagers, Ross and Naomi, are both the same age. At the charity work, Naomi and Ross get in trouble, Ross for shouting and using profanity and Naomi for asking a homeless man for a cigarette. At a bowling alley, Ross and Naomi sneak to a bar and ask a stranger for a cigarette. When Hunter Garnett catches them and when they get home, Mark Garnett loses his temper and punishes the teens by sending them straight to bed early. ; the next one. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 2 | 25 September 2008 | Charlotte Hart and Sam Northaide | Dave and Sharon Rose in Jamaica, West Indies | Sam gets sent to bed early after a confrontation with Sharon Rose about church, Charlotte leaves school early on the first day for writing an inappropriate essay and arguing with a teacher about writing the essay, and gets sent to the principal's office. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 3 | 2 October 2008 | Lizzie Pol and Stephan Alvarez | Richard and Vida Adega in Ghana, West Africa | Lizzie gets into trouble in school for falling behind. Meanwhile, Stephan proves a productive member of the household. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 4 | 9 October 2008 | Josh Breslin and Charlotte Abrahams | Sanjeev and Meena Sharma in Jaipur, India | During school, Josh and Charlotte sneak out to McDonald's, get caught by the principal, and receive a grey punishment card. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 5 | 16 October 2008 | Lucy Dodds and Grant Stevens | Hannes and Alma Moolman in Eastern Cape, South Africa | Lucy is expelled from school for not complying with the dress code and for smoking on school grounds with her uniform on in front of the people passing by. After realizing how disrespectful Grant is and how he has had no father around for the majority of his childhood, Hannes contacts Grant's mother, Karen. Hannes finds out that Grant is rude to everyone in his family and he has it too strong for too long. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 6 | 23 October 2008 | Catch up with the 10 teenagers featured in the series, looking back over their experiences to see if strict parenting has changed their relationship with their own parents. This episode aired in Australia on 7 December 2013 |
Series 2 (2009)
Series 2 premiered on BBC Three on 15 October 2009 and ran to 17 December.| Episode | First Aired | Teenagers | Family | Notes | BBC Episode Guide |
| 1 | 15 October 2009 | Bex Keene and Chezdan Dundee | David and Wanda Kimbrough in Atlanta, Georgia, US | The Kimbroughs are a Christian African American family. Bex and Chezden get a scolding from Wanda after ditching Sunday School. Bex also gets in trouble at school for walking out of class, talking back to the principal, and using Facebook. Chezden spends a couple hours out of the house for having an angry outburst over David being considered his father. The song that's featured in this episode is "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 2 | 22 October 2009 | Peter Wrigley and Jocelyn Harris | M. S. "Unni" and Madhu Unnikrishnan in Pune, India | During the show, Peter gets reprimanded by Unni for getting tattooed from an unlicensed artist, thus putting him at risk of contracting HIV, as the unlicensed tattoo studio apparently reuses needles. The production staff intervene, fearing for his safety. Peter is very unhappy after being forced to leave the parlour with a half-finished tattoo which was, ironically, to say "Wisdom" in Hindi. | |
| 3 | 29 October 2009 | Hannah Moorehead and Leigh Sturge | Michael and Marianyana Selelo in Botswana, Africa | The family lives in a village. Leigh and Hannah both lie about smoking and drinking. Leigh disagrees with the locals about their ideas surrounding disciplining their children. Both teens attend school, where Hannah is much more reluctant than Leigh. At the end of school year ceremony, Leigh performs in the school's dance performance, while Hannah gives a speech. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 4 | 5 November 2009 | Hannah Thorpe and James Gowing | Spencer and Nicholeen P. Peck in Tooele, Utah, US | The Peck family are devoted Mormons. This is the first episode that features a teen who is a young parent. This was the most viewed episode on this show. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 5 | 12 November 2009 | Gemma Lyons and Jack Travers | David and Tzippi Schechet in Ayalon Valley, Israel | Gemma and Jack are introduced to the Schechet family, an Orthodox Jewish family from Los Angeles, who relocated to Israel to live a more religious life. Gemma is an angry girl, who uses her looks and temper to get her way. Jack is a goth, and is bisexual, and is ridiculed by his family. The teens at first throw tantrums and disregard rules, but are humbled by their enjoyment of the work, and a meeting with two elderly Holocaust survivors. However, Gemma becomes jealous when attention is turned to Jack, 'reverts to her couldn't-care-less attitude', and is caught sunbathing in a bikini on the front lawn of the Schechet's home by Tzippi, disobeying the community dress code, after which she is asked to leave. After she spends a night in a Tel Aviv hotel, the Schechets decide to give her another chance and invite her back to join them for lunch in Jerusalem, after which they visit the Western Wall, which interests Gemma. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. | |
| 6 | 19 November 2009 | Debbie McQueen and Daniel Drinkwater | Abdulsalam and Iman Hajjar in Beirut, Lebanon | For a week they must live under the strict rules of the Hajjars, a liberal Sunni Islamic family. | |
| 7 | 3 December 2009 | Calvin Kirlew and Rosie Harley | Earl and Rosie Perez in Belize, Central America | Earl and Rosie apparently whip their children when badly behaved. | |
| 8 | 10 December 2009 | Kaya Elliot and Jay Birch | Stacey and Shannon White in Kiefer, Oklahoma, US | Kaya was picked by the police for running away from the Whites. After being rushed to hospital, it was revealed that she faked an illness, then refuses to stay after her scheme is uncovered. Meanwhile, Jay struggles with motivational issues ever since the death of his four-year-old niece, Molly, which are gradually resolved over the week with Stacey's help. This episode was also aired as an Australian episode and narrated by Axle Whitehead. Kaya becomes the first teen to fail the "program" and go home before the week was over. Her parents were left questioning how her life will end up if she continues this path. Jay eventually continued to stay until the week was over. | |
| 9 | 17 December 2009 | The programme catches up with ten teenagers featured in the series. The episodes that were represented were Atlanta, India, Botswana, Utah, and Lebanon. The teens recall their experiences and promises, answering whether or not the programme changed their life. |
Series 3 (2010)
Series three premiered on BBC Three on 11 October 2010, the show returned for an 11-episode run. While not formally announced, it appears the teens now spend a week with their adopted families rather than the 10 days in the two previous series. Each episode aired at 9:00 pm on BBC Three and was repeated at various times over the following week. It was also moved to a Monday.| Episode | First Aired | Teenagers | Family | Notes | BBC Episode Guide |
| 1 | 11 October 2010 | Wesley McGillian and Tamsin Carruthers-Cole | Joe Leveille and Scott Loper in Cape May, New Jersey, US | The first time one of the training parents, has gone to the home of one of the British teens, as well as the first time that the parents have been same-sex, the second time one of the teens was a teen parent, and the first time one of the teenagers stayed longer than planned. | |
| 2 | 18 October 2010 | Nicole Benham and Nathan Ballance | Kenrick and Andrea Harris in Barbados, Caribbean | Nathan spends two nights out of the Harris home: the first night in a motel for not handing over his cigarettes, and the second night for not apologizing for leaving school. Both teens ran off on the school grounds and had Kenrick driving all over Barbados looking for them. In this episode, during a verbal confrontation between Andrea and Nicole, Andrea loses her temper and shouts at Nicole, who runs out into the street but returns after a couple of hours. In the scene when the teens arrive at the Harris household, Andrea interrogates Nathan for his smoking habits which he tries to justify, causing her to angrily respond with "You are not in the UK, you are in Barbados" while clapping her hands thrice. The quote became an internet meme among fans and non-fans of the show. | |
| 3 | 25 October 2010 | Nicki Stygall and Jerri MacVeigh | Brindley and Mandy De Zylva in Colombo, Sri Lanka | For the first time ever on the show, the teenagers were both girls, instead of having one girl and one boy. The reasons for this are unknown. Both girls are highly aggressive, Jerri struggles to do volunteer work and is freaked out by the residents disabilities. Nicki screams and swears at Brindley when being woken up. | |
| 4 | 1 November 2010 | Eden Lelliott-Moore and Anastasia Jones | Linzey and Jeanie Armstrong in Astatula, Florida, US | The Armstrongs are an interracial family. Both one of the parents and one of the teens are biracial. During the show, Eden and Anastasia get in trouble at the thrift shop for refusing to complete their tasks, for which Linzey had to come pick them up. | |
| 5 | 8 November 2010 | Rosie Hynd and Nick Barrientos | Ed and Marta Hill in Puerto Rico | The teens get expelled from school for cutting math class, and are banned from getting their education at their school ever again. After that, Rosie Has a 12-Hour Standoff With Ed Hill. Both teens apologized to Ed and they were allowed back in the next day. | |
| 6 | 15 November 2010 | Scott Collinson and Billie Spencer | Dickson and Faith Mugaza in Mombasa, Kenya | Billie spends one night on their grandmother's farm as The Mugazas' punishment for smoking as a minor and misbehaving in the community and arguing and embarrassing Faith over the school uniform policy. Scott is kicked out of school for refusing to shave his beard. | |
| 7 | 22 November 2010 | Sevda Hussein and Andrew Harwood | Randy and Rozanne Frazee in San Antonio, Texas, US | Sevda leaves the house for a couple of hours after throwing a tantrum about not being allowed a cigarette, whereas Andrew didn't cause much of a fuss. | |
| 8 | 29 November 2010 | Forrest Talbot and Daniel Eyre | Jan and Lisbeth van Berkel in Born, Netherlands | Both teens make a mess out of the oldest daughter's underwear drawer, Forrest bickers with Lisbeth for having a towel over her face during a conversation. After Daniel evades the production crew in Amsterdam to smoke cannabis, he spends a night in a hotel. Both teens repeatedly broke the "trust rule" of their hosts. | |
| 9 | 6 December 2010 | Nadia Traboulsi and Aron Shave | Nalini Nanjundayya in Bangalore, India | Mrs Nanjundayya is a single mother of three, following the death of her husband 15 years ago. She is assisted by uncles Pradeep and Mukesh, as well as her own mother, Lolita. Aron and Nadia were kicked out of school on their first day for fighting and smoking.The same host family would appear in the New Zealand version. | |
| 10 | 13 December 2010 | Dina Darweish and Alex Miles | DeWayne and Vanessa Davis in Chicago, Illinois, US | Alex is kicked out of the Davis's house for a while after he smokes outside their house, but after a while, a guilt-ridden Alex apologizes to Dewayne and is allowed back in the house. This episode also aired in Australia on 1 March 2015. | |
| 11 | 20 December 2010 | The programme catches up with 10 British teenagers from the series six months after they lived with families all over the globe. It reveals the lessons they learned and the inside story of their journeys, including father-to-be Wesley McGillian and Rosie Hynd who met her match in Puerto Rico. Five of the episodes were represented – those being New Jersey, Barbados, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico and Texas. All teens involved had made a marked change in their attitudes and behaviour. |
Series 4 (2011)
Series 4 premiered on 3 November 2011 and featured 12 teenagers. The series ran until 15 December.| Episode | First Aired | Teenagers | Family | Notes | BBC Episode Guide |
| 1 | 3 November 2011 | Remzi Tomlin and Bryony Harris | Gonzalo and Guadalupe Bustamante in Buenos Aires, Argentina | For the first time in the programme's history, one of the teens had special needs. Additionally, Bryony had suffered long-term from anger management issues. On their first day of school, Bryony was kicked out for refusing to participate in a reading activity in English. She returned to the class with the headteacher and got a cigarette off of Remzi. This led to chastisement from Marissa, seriously aggravating Bryony, leading to her acting physically aggressive towards Marissa, in an attempt to leave. Remzi follows her out of the school; this culminates in their joint expulsion. That evening, Gonzalo and Guadalupe's youngest son, Santiago, backed up Guadalupe when she grounded Bryony and when Bryony threatened to punch Guadalupe. After Bryony's outburst at school and at home, Guadalupe calls Bryony's father, where he reveals much of her history. The teens spent much time redecorating a kindergarten in a slum local to the gated community they were staying in. | |
| 2 | 10 November 2011 | Charlie Denny and Hamzah Wali | Anna-Marie de Vos and Suzanne Du Toit in Western Cape, South Africa | The second time that the training parents have been of the same-sex. | |
| 3 | 17 November 2011 | Shola Bruce-Coker and Joiee Birch | Ashwani and Rashmi Virk in Gurgaon, India | The teens are kicked out of school after an incident where security are called and Joiee refuses to let them search his bag, for fear of his bottle of gin being discovered. Shola is kicked out of the Virks' flat for a short while after swearing at Ashwani when he asks her to wear an Indian outfit for his deceased father's memorial service, but she refuses. After a few minutes, Rashmi steps out to speak to Shola. Shola later apologises to Rashmi and is allowed back in the flat. | |
| 4 | 24 November 2011 | Jade Bare and Connor Jones | Rob and Denise Smith Irwin in Seattle, Washington, US | This is the first time one of the host parents are disabled and the third time that one of the teenagers is a parent. | |
| 5 | 1 December 2011 | Georgie Weare and Callum Watson | Benjamin and Shasha Li in Charlotte, North Carolina, US | Both coming from single parent households, the teens come to live under the guidance of a wealthy Chinese-American family. During the show, Callum manages to improve and gets on easily although he has trouble quitting smoking, substance abuse, and drinking habits until the Li family help him realise the implications of his behaviour; during which he forms a friendship with the family's son, Alex Li. However, Georgie, Shasha, and Alex argue over Alex's opinion that Georgie did not do well at the charity work, then Georgie runs out of the house. Benjamin has to negotiate with Georgie in a two-hour standoff to come back in the house but returns and Shasha calls Georgie's mother. After the show, Georgie still refused to apologise to the Li family after her angry outburst during the show. | |
| 6 | 8 December 2011 | Hannah Button and Ritchie Reddey | Ali and Canan Vural in Silifke, Turkey | Before Ritchie was sent to Turkey, he had a stretched earlobe, a phallic tattoo on his leg, and a bad relationship with his father, who left him when he was a child. Ritchie moved in with his dad at the age of 11, and has been through a lot of detention at school. Meanwhile, Mum is struggling with her 17-year-old wild girl Hannah. | |
| 7 | 15 December 2011 | The programme catches up with the British teenagers from the series months after they lived with their host families overseas. It reveals the lessons they learned and the inside story of their journeys. |
Australia
The Seven Network also created their own series of The World's Strictest Parents, hosted by singer and actor Axle Whitehead. The first season debuted in Australia on 22 July 2009. However, a sneak peek was shown on 24 June 2009 and was the top watched show of the week, with 1.875 million people tuning in. Whitehead's song Way Home was featured in the advertisements. The show is classified PG.A second season went to air on 14 July 2010, starting with two British episodes featuring Whitehead's narration.
Season 3 premiered on 10 August 2011, however the series was continually interrupted due to the airing of the third season of The X Factor Australia.
The remainder of season three was aired in the middle of 2012.
The show did not return for a fourth season in 2013, due to poor ratings. Instead, repeats of old episodes began airing on Sunday afternoons.
Reception
The first episode attracted an audience of 1.54 million, and was the second most watched show of the night.| Episode No. | Airdate | Ratings | Nightly Rank | Weekly Rank |
| 1 | 22 July 2009 | 1.541 | 2nd | 8th |
| 2 | 29 July 2009 | 1.595 | 2nd | 5th |
| 3 | 5 August 2009 | 1.499 | 3rd | 8th |
| 4 | 12 August 2009 | 1.453 | 2nd | 8th |
| 5 | 19 August 2009 | 1.521 | 1st | 6th |
| 6 | 26 August 2009 | 1.302 | 5th | 13th |
| 7 | 2 September 2009 | 1.307 | 5th | 15th |
| 8 | 9 September 2009 | 1.395 | 3rd | 6th |
| 9 | 16 September 2009 | 1.407 | 2nd | TBA |
New Zealand
A New Zealand adaptation of The World's Strictest Parents aired in 2012 on TV One. Only one season was made.Denmark
In Denmark the show is called Verdens strengeste forældre and is broadcast by TV3.Germany
In Germany the show is called "Die strengsten Eltern der Welt". It is broadcast by Kabel Eins.Season 3 (2011)
Unlike the original series, the teenagers don't know they are going to different parents' households and they think that it's just a holiday trip. The new family usually does not speak German and the teenagers likewise usually don't speak any other language than German so they can only talk through translators. Therefore, they do not have long conversation or are given advice as in the original series.Poland
In Poland, the reality was aired on TVN from 2012 to 2014 with the title "Surowi rodzice".Related shows
- Teen Trouble
- Supernanny
- Beyond Scared Straight
- The Principal's Office
- Maury (talk show) Sally (talk show)
- Sleeping with the Family
- Hermano Mayor
- Brat Camp
- SOS Adolescentes