A Bolton mum has gone ‘on strike’ from housework as part of a revived Channel 5 reality TV show.
The series, called ‘Mums on Strike’, follows unequal households where one partner – usually the woman – takes on more of the domestic load than anyone else in the home.
Originally known as ‘Wife on Strike’, the program has been rebooted for 2024 – with the first episode airing on Sunday, July 21.
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Heaton mum Gaynor Eckersley was one of two Greater Manchester mums who featured on the first episode.
In the program, Gaynor says she feels like she’s the ‘only one doing all the chores’ – leaving her husband Paul and twin boys Dylan and Devon, both aged 17, to their own devices.
In the program, Gaynor says she feels like she’s the ‘only one doing all the chores’ (Image: Proper Content / Channel 5 Television)
Speaking to The Bolton News, the 60-year-old hairdresser – who has started her own online ‘accountability motivation’ business for women going through the menopause – said: “I just wanted to voice where I was, because I’m going through the menopause.
“Since hitting the menopause, it made it really difficult for me to find the energy to do everything as well as work, and that was the outcome I wanted. They’ve reocgnised that and it’sm ade our relationship stronger.
“My husband has actually always helped out, but I wanted him to support me with the boys really – the show itself was amazing.
“The production, the producer, the girls who came and filmed us, it was just an amazing opportunity and the experience was something that I’ve never experienced before, but I loved it – it was great.”
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Gaynor added that she believes ‘communication is key’ in any family.
She said: “It isn’t just women, it could be a family where the guy does everything – it just needs to be shared out. Have a family meeting and sit down and say ‘these are what needs doing, these are the different jobs, who wants to do that job?’
“Give them the option, don’t demand and say ‘this is your job, why should I be doing it?’. I might have approached it in that way because I wasn’t myself – I was exhausted with the menopause and going to work and then finding myself doing all those things that I needed help with.
“It’s definitely communication, and I think if you deliver it in a calm manner, they accept it more.”
The first episode of the second series of Mums on Strike is available to stream now on Channel 5’s website.
The second episode of the series will air on Sunday, July 28 at 9pm.
If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.
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