| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Starring: | Aneela Rahman |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Network: | BBC2 |
| First Aired: | (Pilot) (Series) |
Arrange Me a Marriage is a British reality TV series, for which the pilot episode aired on BBC2 in March 2007;[1] while the first of five series episodes aired on 22 November 2007.[2]
It was Aneela Rahman's sister, Sidra Khan, who developed the idea with the MD of betty television, Liz Warner. Sidra was working at betty TV as a senior development producer, when Liz Warner showed her a 4 line idea about a Jewish or Muslim marriage broker who could "arrange" marriages for non-Muslims/Jews. Sidra travelled to Glasgow and shot a taster tape of Aneela. Sidra tried to pitch her sister to the head of BBC Entertainment, Elaine Bedell and Mirella Breda. Debi Allen took Aneela on as a client.
British singletons in their mid-30s are found partners using the principles of Asian arranged marriage. Aneela Rahman, a Glasgow based British-Asian marriage arranger, described as the "British Asian Cilla Black,"[3] gets their family and friends to network together and find the perfect partner in a four-week period.
Rahman believes that the divorce rate in Britain would decline if more couples were matched up through class, education, family background, life goals and earnings:
"For many non-Asians meeting someone is quite random, in a bar or club – but you wouldn’t buy a house or car drunk so why would you expect to find a life partner like that? Then people wake up 20 years later and wonder why they haven't found someone to settle down with."[3]Each episode tracks the friends and family of five contestants/singletons, who have four weeks to network on their behalf and find the perfect partner. After Rahman has vetted and met the potential matches, the contestant/singleton is given a choice of two potential matches,[4] from which with the guidance of their family and a brief biography – but no photograph – they choose one match. Each episode culminates in an Asian-style introduction party, where the contestant/singleton meets their chosen match together with both sets of family and friends. The episodes end with updates on how the matches are or are not getting on.[5]
Aneela Rahman, born in Scotland to immigrant Pakistani parents,[6] met her husband Maqsood when she was 25 through an arranged marriage – they married 18 months later. The couple have been married for 15 years, have two children.