Mums on strike: Hair salon owner and dog-groomer who claim they do '80 per cent of the house work' team up and go on domestic strike leaving their husbands and teenage children to clean up after themselves in new Channel 5 documentary

A new series of a Channel 5 programme delves into the domestic lives of British families - and looks at what happens when over-worked wives and mothers have had enough.

Mums on Strike, which restarts on Sunday, visits 'some of the UK’s most unequal households' in which one partner is responsible for more of the domestic load than anyone else in the home.

Each episode features two families in which usually (but not always) the woman is sick of being the main household's dogsbody.

In a last-ditch effort to show just how much work they do in the house, the family member who does the most 'goes on strike' for a week, leaving all the chores to the others for a change.   

'Those left behind must try and muscle through one week without the family linchpin, as we uncover the real dynamics of the household,' says a statement describing the programme.

Oldham-based David and Alfie Ogden (pictured L-R) are not happy after mother Sarah 'goes on strike', leaving them to do their own housework

According to wife and mother Sarah Ogden (pictured) as well as working part-time as a dog groomer, she does everything in the house as well

'As their strike unfolds, we follow both sides as they try and cope, in this unique look at modern Britain how we all live together.'

The first episode features the Oldham-based Ogden family including Sarah, 54, who is married to David, 54. The couple shares 16-year-old son Alfie.

Part-time dog groomer Sarah does everything in the home, and is unhappy with feeling as though she has become the family maid - so much so, she says she 'mentally packs her bags' every evening - and has done so for years. 

David, an operations manager, believes that house chores like cooking and cleaning are 'women's work'.

As the breadwinner, he says he has no time for chores (or for dates with his wife) and is unwilling to let anything get in the way of watching his beloved Manchester City, which he is obsessed with.

Speaking in the first episode, Sarah says: 'Typically, I do everything in the house. David moves the occasional cup, and will tell you about it...I do the washing, the ironing, the cooking, the cleaning, the shopping, the windows.'

She adds: 'I do the blinds. I do the skirting boards. I do the sofa. I do under the cushions. It's just an endless task. I clean the dog muck up three times a day.'

Meanwhile, while David concedes that his wife 'probably does the lion's share', he opines that it is 'not back breaking' labour, adding 'it's not digging roads, is it?'.'

Wife and mother Gaynor Eckersley (pictured, right) with husband Paul (second from right) and their twin sons Dylan and Devon ( both pictured left)

However, when he finds out his wife is on strike, meaning he will have to pick up the slack, he is not happy.

'So I go to work, pay the bills, come home, cook my tea, do my cleaning, do the ironing, clean the house,' he says during the episode.

'I don't think so. I might as well get my own flat...it's a p*** take.'

The second family featured in the programme includes the Bolton-based Eckersley family - 59-year-old Gaynor, he husband Paul, 58, and their twin sons Dylan and Devon, 16. 

According to Gaynor, who runs a hair salon, she does 75 per cent of the household chores, and wants help from her husband and sons, who she believes are now old enough to help too.

However, father Paul is not keen, and says he doesn't want their abode to become a work house. 

With both of the women feeling the strain of working and doing the vast majority of the chores at home, they revolt, leaving their families to clean up after themselves.

Oldhma-based David Ogden (pictured) was not at all pleased when he discovered that wife Sarah (pictured) would be going on strike

According to the programme information, Gaynor and Sarah 'make their demands and bond over the menopause', even calling themselves the 'HRT Sisters'.

'Their husbands’ immediately "rude" responses do not go down well,' it adds.

'Paul pushes back on Gaynor’s plans to enlist their kids help and David and his son can’t get their heads around an omelette, let alone the mess resulting from their bulldog’s dinner.

'The wives do not give up and neither do their friends, even when things get frosty - 

'Can David seize love with a homemade salad? Can Paul talk to the boys about women’s issues?'

The new series of Mums on Strike airs from Sunday, July 21, at 9pm on Channel 5 & My5.