However, Ofcom dismissed their concerns which led the some in the Gypsy community to take further action at a high court in London. Gypsy backlashĪfter the show aired in the U.K., many people in the traveller community complained that the show portrayed gypsies in a negative light and they took their complaints to the U.K. From family drama to provocative clothes and dance moves, the show and its subsequent spin-offs have left viewers coming back for more. What makes this show so entertaining is that the scenarios being shown are often simply outrageous. One of the spin-offs was My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding. It also spawned many, many spin-offs which we will discuss later.
More episodes were aired in 2011 and another series aired in 2012. It was even given an award in cultural diversity for the Most Groundbreaking Show by Cutting Edge. A one-off special, 'My Bigger Fatter Gypsy Wedding' features the biggest Traveller wedding of the year with dressmaker Thelma Madine as event planner. The show first aired in 2012 and quickly became a big hit. The final episode of season one uncovers the prejudice that exists against the travelling community in Britain today.
In addition, there was a lot of outrageous behavior when the cameras were not rolling, which we will touch on later. One common aspect of Irish traveller culture is that they have extravagant weddings with very memorable dresses.Īlthough the show was very successful, it also created a lot of controversy amongst audiences as many of the couples who walked down the aisle in the show were very young, something which is common in the Gypsy community. Irish travellers are a subgroup of gypsies that typically live in the U.K. The show documented the lives of different Irish traveller families leading to the weddings of their children. We’re taking a deeper look at a reality show with big dresses, big drama, and big families.īefore My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding made a big splash on TLC in the United States, it was originally a documentary series on the British Channel 4.