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My sons think I am cool, says TV show celebrant

Channel 4 Sionainn Carmichael and Ryan Livesey are photographed on their wedding day. Ryan is wearing a black suit with a peach button hole, and Sionainn is wearing a white wedding dress with a veil. They are both stood facing each other and smiling. Channel 4
Sionainn Carmichael and Ryan Livesey took part in the ninth series of Married at First Sight

A celebrant on the latest series of Channel 4's Married at First Sight said appearing on the show has made her seem "so cool" to her teenage sons.

Esther Underwood, 48, took part in the ceremony of Sionainn Carmichael, 29, and Ryan Livesey, 28, in the ninth series of the show.

Married at First Sight is a show where single people marry total strangers, meeting for the first time at the altar.

Ms Underwood from Kingsthorpe, Northampton, said she was keen to appear on the show "because I've been a fan for a long time".

She said she only took up the role as a celebrant last year, having previously worked in a school and ran a performing arts company.

The UK Society of Celebrants described the position as someone "who performs and officiates formal wedding ceremonies" and can also conduct others, such as vow renewals, baby naming, commitments and divorce ceremonies.

Ant Maxted Photography A smiling Esther Underwood looks directly at the camera as she photographed outside. She has red hair and is wearing a patterned top. Ant Maxted Photography
Esther Underwood became a celebrant last year, having previously worked in a school

Ms Underwood said she "reached out" to the producers of Married at First Sight, and was later invited to conduct a ceremony in Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire.

"I knew the couple's names and that was it and so I created a ceremony for them and attended and married them," she said.

'Nerve-wracking for families'

Ms Underwood told BBC Radio Northampton the show was "absolutely exactly as you see".

"They haven't met each other, so I met Ryan standing at the top of the aisle looking nervous," she said.

The celebrant said it was "nerve-wracking for the families" of the couple.

"They have the nerves of being on television but, of course, also the nerves that their person, their family member is marrying a complete stranger," she said.

She said she watch the episode with her partner and two teenage sons. She added: "They were dead excited. I'm [now] so cool."

According to Channel 4, the weddings are not legally binding, but the couples "make a lifelong commitment to one another".

Ms Underwood said "some couples stay together, some couples go their separate ways", but she added that she was rooting for Sionainn and Ryan

"They're just lovely people. I met them briefly, but they seem really sweet," she said.

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