Children are being asked to organise weddings for their parents as part of a BBC drive to reflect modern Britain.

Traditionally, it was the parents of the bride who worried about planning their daughter’s big day.

Now it is the children who are being asked to organise their parents’ wedding, in a BBC “reality” show.

In Marrying Mum & Dad, children as young as seven will be allowed to spend up to ￡10,000 on each wedding, picking out bridal gowns and dreaming up surprise themes.

The corporation says that it wants to see parents who are cohabiting, those remarrying after divorce, and even homosexual couples taking part, to “reflect modern Britain”.

But critics claim that it risks trivialising marriage and gives children a huge amount of responsibility which they may not be able to handle.

The series for CBBC, the corporation’s digital channel for primary school age children, will ask children aged between seven and 12 to arrange the character and style of the wedding or civil partnership.

They will be asked to oversee as many aspects of the day as they want, from the transport and entertainment to the dress and cake - though they will not be allowed to arrange hen nights or stag parties.

Parents on the show will have to be prepared to adapt to youthful tastes. Producers said they were anticipating unconventional ideas, which could see parents walking down the aisle dressed as animated characters, such as Shrek and Princess Fiona.

Ninder Billing, the executive producer of Marrying Mum & Dad, said: “Marriages are increasingly taking place where children are already in the picture and this is something we can be celebratory about.

“Long gone are the days where people are ashamed to be having a second marriage or having children out of wedlock.

“We still respect the institution of marriage, but it’s our responsibility to find ways of reflecting modern Britain.”

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)