Blog,  Parenting,  Two Dads

The Modern Family Show – Back for the third year running!

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This September sees a whole host of exhibitors, sponsors and experts return for the third annual number one family building exhibition – The Modern Family Show. Hosted and founded by Michael and Wes Johnson-Ellis, known as TwoDadsUK, Dads via UK Surrogacy, The Modern Family Show comes to London 23rd September, 2023. It will be taking residency at the iconic 8 Northumberland, London.

The Modern Family Show is an educational family-building event taking place in the UK. A show like no other, designed to safely guide and support the LGBTQ+ community to understand their options for wanting children. If you are interested in; Surrogacy and IVF/IUI, Adoption, Fostering, Co-Parenting, Fertility Preservation, Solo Parenting, and Egg/Sperm Donation then this is the event for you.

Having witnessed discrimination firsthand when it comes to family-building as a gay couple, founders Michael and Wes wanted to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to come and speak to experts, professionals and like-minded people who have been through the family building process. Now thriving, returning in its third year, The Modern Family Show is back with a whole host of exciting guests.

Our fantastic sponsors range from: The Agora Clinic to Mishcon de Reya; to Avanti Fostering; Lane Fertility Institute; Cryos and Herts & Essex Fertility Centre. Each of these sponsors specialise and take pride in their involvement and knowledge of the challenges and differences that LGBTQ+ couples face when building their family.

The Modern Family Show provides you with the resources, the experts and gives you the safe space you need to talk in private as part of our open surgery service. We can support the most exciting journey of your life ensuring you’re better informed, whilst being treated with the respect you deserve.

We have worked hard to source exhibitors who have genuine experience with supporting modern family building, especially those who have supported LGBTQ+ people. From Adoption to Fertility Clinics to Surrogacy agencies, we have it all covered.


The My Surrogacy Journey team will be there with an exhibition stand as well as a whole host of exciting supporters who are there to give you advice, guidance and lend an empathetic ear. There is a whole host of exhibitors to suit every unique pathway to parenthood for every couple or individual no matter how they identify.

We are also playing host to Diers Klinik who are committed to giving single women, lesbians and transgender couples the opportunity to have a baby through IUI. Diers Klinik was one of the first clinics in Denmark to offer IUI fertility treatment to single women and lesbian couples without discrimination.

We have worked with industry leading professionals and our incredible partners to bring you the best educational programme available in the industry.

We also have three incredible stages, sponsored by My surrogacy Journey, Lane Fertility Institute and the Agora Clinic, packed with educational sessions and Q&A style panels. Our London Main Stage will cover everything from UK and US Surrogacy for beginners, to the Parental Order Process and how to explore fostering and adoption pathways.  These seminars are a great way to gain expert insight into a topic that is tailored to your needs. We’ve created a handy topic key so you can pinpoint the right seminar for you. From transgender issues, to legal information, adopting and fostering to fertility treatment we have it all across three jam-packed stages.

All seminars are included as standard with the price of your ticket, but you can book dedicated individual sessions by selecting ‘Add Ons’ when making your ticket purchase via Eventbrite.

The Modern Family Show has also assembled with some of the UK’s leading Social Media Parenting Influencers as our official Advocates to act as the voice of their chosen family group and wider parenting community. Our Advocates also ensure they are helping to promote the event on Facebook, Instagram and in their blogs to a targeted LGBTQ+ audience.

We’ve designed The Modern Family Show to not only look and feel different, but to deliver an event that will help you take the next exciting step on a journey to building your family. Furthermore, you’ll have the chance to meet our panel of advocates, including the show’s founders Michael and Wes. Our advocates are all parents or parents to be, and whether that’s as a result of Fostering, Adoption, Trans-Parents, Co-parenting, Surrogacy or Sperm/Egg donation, they’ll be there to answer any questions you may have with advice from their own lived experiences. Michael and Wes will also be interviewed by television personality Anna Richardson!

Anna is proudly part of the LGBTQ+ community and has faced her own difficult journey with early menopause leading to infertility in her late-thirties. This journey – which was shocking and personal – played out fairly publicly whilst Anna was shooting and presenting ‘The Sex Education Show’. The Sex Education Show was intended to improve the nation’s knowledge of sexual issues, and ran for five series from 2008 to 2011 but proved to be a pivotal moment in Anna’s fertility journey too. The Modern Family Show is delighted to have Anna as interviewer and guest speaker – we cannot wait to hear from her.

You can find out about all of our exhibitors and panels plus so much more if you visit The Modern Family Show website here.

Michael Johnson-Ellis is Dad to Talulah and Duke, step Dad to Katie, and husband to Wes. Since having children Michael changed his career from a stressful city job, to being an award winning Surrogacy advocate, supporting those who are struggling to conceive or are from the LGBTQ community, and dream of parenthood. Michael blogs and documents his life as a parent via TwoDadsUK® on Facebook and Instagram. Michael and Wes are both founders of TwoDadsUK®(www.TwoDadsUK.com), The Modern Family Show 2021 (the only UK LGBTQ family building event, and the latest Surrogacy not for profit organisation My Surrogacy Journey®(www.mysurrogacyjourney.com). Michael also writes for IVF Babble, the world’s largest online fertility magazine and has recently established IVF Babble LGBT. Michael recently was awarded one of the twenty two Census purple plaques, recognising his work to the trying to conceive community. TwoDadsUK has collaborated with brands such as Cow & Gate Baby Club, Audi, Save The Children, Vodafone, Sainsburys, and appeared on TV such as BBC Breakfast, CBeebies and Channel 4 to name a few.

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