Wanted Down Under

Sue Evans is desperate to uproot her family to the other side of the world but husband and eldest Bethany are far from sold. They are asking the ultimate question - is it worth it?

Losing her mum to cancer brought home to Sioned Young how fragile life is. She is determined to live each moment to the full and feels Australia is the place to do just that.

Lindy MacEwan longs for a fresh start after her painful divorce. She thinks moving to NZ could be the answer she is looking for but can she make husband Steve agree to a move?

Sheldon Fearon feels a move to Australia will help his family enjoy a better pace of life but wife Shelly Ann is struggling with leaving her life in the UK behind.

Having survived challenging times, Gavin Stockley's convinced a fresh start down under is what his family needs, but getting wife Amie on board will be harder than he thinks.

Seeing her daughter deal with cerebral palsy has inspired Nicola to be brave about her dream of living down under, but husband Mark knows the road ahead could be a difficult one.

Paddy McGuiness is a lover of all things Aussie, and has an Australian-born wife. But Erin left the country behind and is loving life in Northern Ireland.

Busy lives mean little time for family, but while Yvonne yearns to move to Australia for a better family life, husband David is not convinced the grass is greener on the other side of the world.

The Mrengos are proud to call the UK home, but their hectic lives mean something has got to give. Any move down under would mean them putting everything on the line.

You've just got married and are deciding where to live. It happens to a lot of us. But what if your other half thought Australia was the best place in the world to settle down, and you didn't? That is the dilemma that faces the Castlings from Gateshead.

Childhood sweethearts Edna and Daniel Siwak met when they were just 12 years old. They married in 2013, had a child of their own and live... exactly where they both grew up, in east London. But now, as a mumherself, Edna is looking at her surroundings through different eyes and doesn't like what she sees. With high-rise living and rising crime rates, she feels the East End isn't the same. She wants better and believes Australia is the answer. But Polish-born husband Daniel is not keen to go. Having lost his mum to cancer a couple of years ago, he feels the loss hugely. Her death has made Daniel and his sisters incredibly close. The thought of leaving them and going to live on the other side of the world breaks his heart.

Zoe Whylie has fought hard to build a life for her family. She wants to give them the lifestyle she never had. She feels her children are growing up too fast in the UK and thinks Australia could be the answer.But is a move halfway around the world the way to do it, especially when the eldest child is fighting her all the way?

The Donlon family from Holmfirth in Yorkshire has reached a crossroads, with dad Tim eagerly looking towards retirement and mum Diana desperate to get back to work. As their children are almost all grown up andstarting out on their own, is it time for Diana and Tim to follow their long-held dream of living in New Zealand? It was their plan to move there years ago, when the couple first met at university. After graduating and getting married, they were all set to leave. But sadly Diana's father became seriously ill and the dream got put on hold. Then came the children. In a flurry - four in five years!

Growing up, Rebecca Ellis listened to dashing, sea-faring tales at her grandfather's knee of the beauty and excitement of the South Seas and Australia. Captivating the young Rebecca, she has been determined tomove there ever since. But now a mum with four young children and new partner Kylie, she knows she has to get all the family on board if a move is to happen. And that won't be easy. Emigrating will mean the children having to say goodbye to their much-loved dad and leave him behind in Sunderland.

From the day and hour they met, Selina had been selling the idea of living in Australia to husband Rob. After a holiday with her family in her teens, she knew it was the land of her dreams. Fast forward three years and it's role reversal, with Selena now the stumbling block and husband Rob pushing to go. Rob and Selina Taylor live in Bridgnorth in Shropshire. They met through social media ten years ago when Selina 'liked' a photo of Rob on holiday with his mates. They met up in person and have been together ever since... and one of the things they talked about nonstop was moving down under.

Young Albie Myburgh is the apple of his parent's eyes. He has a rare genetic disorder, fragile X syndrome, which causes developmental problems that his mum and dad believe lessen in the warmth of the sun. Togive him the best possible chance, Jayne is determined to take her young son to Australia - a place she has yearned to live in for a long time.

The Kelly family from Aberdeen love the outdoor life Scotland gives them - weather depending! They now wonder whether New Zealand could offer such a lifestyle all year round. On the face of it Gilan and Holliehave it all - a nice big house, a successful outdoor adventure business and an especially loving extended family. Now in their late 20s, however, they're asking themselves whether they're living to work or working to live. Together they have decided that New Zealand could be the answer. But with their two boys reaching a crucial school age and baby number three on the way time is of the essence.

The military Thom family is desperate to settle down in their forever home. The only problem is dad Kevin thinks it should be close to his nearest and dearest in his Scottish hometown, while mum Lori has her heart set on Australia. There are also sons Niall, who is 11, and Lochlan, who is 18 months. Lori and Kevin met in the RAF in 2005. Originally the one wanting to move, Kevin's latest posting to RAF Lossiemouth has been a return home to friends and family, but Lori has never thought of north east Scotland as being where she should put down her roots. It's not only Kevin who is stalling. Niall has settled into his fifth school in almost as many years. An added plus for the two boys is having their grandparents nearby for the first time. As for Kevin, the idea of leaving his parents is virtually unthinkable. Could a week in Melbourne convince the whole family to move?

Single mum Felicity has dedicated her life to raising her daughter Lucy in the UK. Not that she regrets a minute of it as Lucy now has a wonderful relationship with her father. Now Felicity wants to return back to her roots down under. But Lucy is adamant this is her mum's dream - not hers. Felicity was born in New Zealand and then as a teenager moved to Australia to work. Something of a free spirit, she moved to London to follow her Buddhist calling. But living for ever in the UK was never part of her intended life plan. With Lucy almost grown up at 18, and Felicity in her late fifties, Felicity is desperate to head back home to Australia to be closer to her family - before it's too late. But she can't bear the thought that soulmate Lucy might not come with her, and she has a week to convince Lucy this dream of hers is one they can share.

Ever since Roz and Chris Atkins got together six years ago, talk of New Zealand has been a constant and sometimes sensitive subject. It's a passion that all started when Roz visited New Zealand 17 years ago. She promptly fell in love with the weather, people and its laid-back lifestyle. But Chris believes his wife is chasing something that probably isn't there. Her memories are being filtered through the rose tinted spectacles he believes she is wearing. With Chris settled in a good job, and their two young daughters Lucy and Sarah loving life in Bracknell in south east England, he thinks they should be going nowhere. Mum and dad may be on different pages, but as the trial week approaches, Chris is prepared to give it a go. What if the tables turn when they get out there? Might Rossindra get the wobbles about moving, with cautious Chris ending up loving it?

When Jessica Choux moved to England from France and got married to Matt Parsons, she thought her life would settle down in England. She soon discovered that her fireman husband harbours a passion for moving to Australia, and having 15-month-old Stanley hasn't dampened it. At one time, Jessica was almost convinced to give it a go, but life took a serious turn and a series of tragic events brought any plans to a halt. Matt lost three close relatives in a short period of time. Yet what initially put paid to the Australian dream had also brought it back sharply into focus as Matt realised that life is short and he needed to seize each and every moment. In a trial week in Melbourne, they check out where they might live, what jobs they could get and whether they would be able to afford the lifestyle Australia offers.

Zoe Whylie has fought hard to build a life for her family and wants to give them the lifestyle she never had. She feels her children are growing up too fast in the UK and thinks Australia could be the answer, but her eldest child is fighting her all the way? Meet the Whylie family from Halifax West Yorkshire. Mum Zoe, 15-year-old Courtney, her sister Taylor, nine, and youngest of the family, little brother Harley who's eight. Zoe is a social worker in Bradford - a job she adores. But she still dreams of better, and thinks Perth will give them that. She has planned and saved for four years, and Australia could now become a reality. There's just one problem, daughter Courtney. She doesn't want to go and Zoe won't make the move without her. A trial week in the capital city of Western Australia sees mum desperately trying to stay positive.

Claire and Jason Jones from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales have decided it is time to find out if Australia really is the land of their dreams, for them and their two little boys. Claire caught the Australian bug at an early age when her aunt emigrated as a Ten Pound Pom. She made it sound so magical that Claire's family thought about making the move themselves, twice! The first application fell at the visa hurdle, but the second time a certain gentleman got in the way! Claire had just met Jason and had fallen in love. They've built a happy life in Wales with their two boys, a nice house and good jobs. But recently the weather and relentless lack of any sort of work/life balance has begun to get to Claire. She has just seven days to show Jason the sort of life they could have, and afford, if they located to Brisbane.

Since meeting, Persephone De Magdalene and Debbie Santa Clara have shared a dream of emigrating. Their main motivation is a better work-life balance. Debbie is a doctor and worked up to 80 hours a week, so it fell to Persephone to put her academic career on hold in order to keep family and home life going. As a gay couple, they want acceptance and tolerance and believe New Zealand is a more attractive culture and society for same sex couples. The time is right for a trial week. If they were to go now it would dovetail perfectly with the children moving from primary to secondary school as well as Debbie neatly reaching the end of one training period. The children have a close relationship with their father but he has given his blessing to a move. A trial week gives them a sense of the life they could have and afford in New Zealand.

Stephen Parker has long held a dream of living in Australia, but his wife Marta wants to stay in the UK. They met six years ago, and Marta left her home in Bulgaria to be with Stephen. The couple married in 2014 and are now happily settled in the UK, with baby William arriving a year ago. But now Stephen wants to move to Australia. He grew up in Birmingham but moved to the coast and took up surfing. He has now taken a career break to spend more time with his family, but the lure of the surf is calling to him once again. Marta has had something of a change of heart too and believes now might be the best time to think of a move. But she has grown very close to Stephen's family and taking William away from the only close family he now has would be very tough. A week on the coast near Melbourne gives them a chance to see what life would be like for them if they moved.