Fifth of UK families liken themselves to the Royles?

According to a recent survey by Vodafone, one in five British families liken themselves to the Royle Family, while just over one in six saw a likeness between their own family and The Simpsons.

TV soap families like the Battersbys, Mitchells, Gallaghers and Trotters were among the families Brits thought they were the least like.

The strong traditional values of the Waltons made it the family that over half of Brits would most like to emulate even though only 16% could say they were actually like them. Only 32% of families say they are part of a family that follows Waltons-like traditional family values, even though 92% of people have a good idea of what makes traditional family values.

The survey reveals the top three most important things for a family to do is to talk regularly (90%), eat dinner together (71%) and celebrate special occasions together (69.%).

Also underlined by the survey was the old adage you can choose your friends but not your family. Two-thirds of the UK population would love to be able to choose their family, with over a third wishing they had a personal friend in their family and 15% even wanting a celebrity to be a relative.

Ian Haynes, Head of Product Marketing for Vodafone UK, said, “What’s clear from our survey is that while there are many different types of families in the UK, everyone wants to keep traditional values alive. Talking regularly to one another is voted as really important. Not everyone can always sit together at the dinner table, so whether by voice or text, family communication is generally made easier with the mobile.”

Of course, that leads nicely onto a plug for Vodafone, who has just introduced the Vodafone Family tariff, where one person pays £5 a month and can nominate three contract or pay as you talk people to join their “Family”. They can then make unlimited calls between each other. There’s also a £7 per month package for up to six people to join.