My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Season 1, Episode 6: My Big Fat Gypsy Christmas

Born to Be Wed

This episode looks at the milestones in a Gypsy girl's life leading to the biggest day of all - her wedding. From first Holy Communion (described as a 'dress rehearsal for her wedding day') to the strict rules of courtship, a hen night and, of course, the spectacular wedding itself, this episode examines the traditions and rules followed by Gypsy and traveller girls in Britain today.

No Place Like Home

Romany Gypsy Pat faces criticism for marrying a non-gypsy. But his bride Sam is determined to prove her Gypsy girl credentials with a 14-stone dress that lights up in the dark. With 21 underskirts and moving diamante butterflies, it weighs more than the bride's father. Six-year-old Mary Ann lives on Europe's biggest traveller site, Dale Farm in Essex, which is home to more than 1000 travellers. With a site eviction looming, Mary Ann's mother Margaret hastily arranges the celebration for her daughter's first communion.

Desperate Housewives

A look beyond the enormous wedding dresses, sequins and tiaras to unveil the lot of a Gypsy woman. It's not all just about having blingtastic nuptials. With literacy and education largely deemed unnecessary and domestic abuse startlingly common, the contrast between the daily life of a gypsy girl and the glitz and glamour of their wedding day is stark.

Boys Will Be Boys

While Gypsy and traveller women want to be a princess on their wedding day, the reality in the Gypsy community is that on every other day it is man who is king. This film looks at the testosterone-filled world of the traveller man, where disputes are settled with fists, and status is conveyed by the car you drive. Ex bare-knuckle boxer Paddy, the patriarch of a traveller site in Salford, explains the role of a traveller man and, crucially, how he earns enough to keep wife Roseanne happy.

Bride & Prejudice

This film visits the annual Appleby Horse Fair and examines the prejudice against the travelling community in Britain today. Discrimination is nothing new to the traveller community and their secretive seclusion from mainstream society seems to be their only defence.

Episode 7