Blind Date
2018 Titlecard
GenreDating game show
Presented byCilla Black (1985–2003)
Paul O'Grady (2017–2019)
Voices ofGraham Skidmore (1985–2002)
Tommy Sandhu (2002–2003)
Melanie Sykes (2017–2019)
Theme music composerLaurie Holloway
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series22
No. of episodes416 (inc. 9 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Production locationsThe London Studios (1985–2003, 2017–2018)
Television Centre (2018)
The Maidstone Studios (2019)
Running time45 minutes (1985–1988)
50 minutes (1989–1990)
60 minutes (1990–2003, 2017–2019)
Production companiesLWT (1985–2003)
So Television, Olga TV and Stellify Media (2017–2019)
Original release
NetworkITV
Release30 November 1985 (1985-11-30) –
31 May 2003 (2003-05-31)
NetworkChannel 5
Release17 June 2017 (2017-06-17) –
16 June 2019 (2019-06-16)
Related
Blind Date: Kiss & Tell
Love on a Saturday Night
Take Me Out
The Love Machine

Blind Date is a British dating game show first produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter[1] but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series Surprise Surprise. Blind Date originally ran on Saturday nights from 30 November 1985 to 31 May 2003 on ITV.

The show returned in 2017 on Channel 5. The new series began airing on 17 June 2017 in its usual Saturday night slot and is produced by So Television, Olga TV and Stellify Media, a firm part-owned by Sony Pictures Television.[2] Paul O'Grady presented the revived series.[3] Melanie Sykes became the new voice of the show, taking over the role most famously held by Graham Skidmore in the original series.[4]

Format

The show had a format similar to the show known in Australia as Perfect Match or in the US as The Dating Game. Three singles of the same sex were introduced to the audience. They were then asked a question by a single individual of the opposite sex, who could hear but not see them, to choose with whom to go on a date. Before the decision "Our Graham" Skidmore (replaced in the final ITV series by Tommy Sandhu), who was never seen, gave an amusing reminder of each contestant. The couple then picked an envelope naming their destination. The following episode showed the couple on their date, as well as interviews with them about the date and each other. Locations ranged from Bognor Regis or a date in an ice cream factory, to Anguilla or the Maldives.

In the final original series (2002–03), the format was tweaked; the "Ditch or Date?" twist was added to the show.[5] Also, a behind-the-scenes companion show, called Blind Date: Kiss & Tell was produced for ITV2 and hosted by Sarah Cawood and Brendan Courtney.[6]

In 2003, the show was broadcast live to try to improve dwindling ratings.

History

Production

A pilot, as It's a Hoot!, was shot in early 1985 and fronted by comedian Duncan Norvelle. John Birt, LWT's director of programmes, and the IBA regulatory body had reservations about Norvelle's camp style. Black had seen The Dating Game in the US and enthused about it to LWT's Alan Boyd, who produced Surprise, Surprise and who made the Norvelle pilot. After two pilots starring Black, the series was commissioned.[1] Thelma Pickles, an old girlfriend of John Lennon, worked as a producer on the show.[7] The distinctive theme music for Blind Date has a strong resemblance to the jazz standard "Soft Winds" and was composed by Laurie Holloway.

Popularity and decline

At the height of its popularity in the 1980s, 18.2 million tuned in on a Saturday night. Black's scouse accent and her catchphrases became familiar throughout the United Kingdom. The show won the Lew Grade Award at the British Academy Television Awards in 1995.[8] The first episode of Series 17, on 10 November 2001, was reportedly watched at 19:00 GMT by seven million viewers – 32% of the audience. This was around a million fewer than tuned in to its debut episode in the previous series.[9] This was likely to state that its popularity was on the wane. Black was responsible for ITV shifting its football programme, The Premiership, to make way for the new series in a prime-time slot. The broadcaster reportedly gave in to Black's ultimatum "move the Premiership football programme or I quit".[10]

Viewing figures had declined to 5 million by 2003. The final episode in May 2003 was seen by 2.9 million viewers.[11]

Cancellation

The series ended in 2003 when, during an episode on 4 January 2003 (the first to be broadcast live), Black announced she was quitting the show.[12][13] The production crew had not been told. A change in the show's format was one of the factors in her decision to leave the show.[14] Production was halted after the series ended; Trisha Goddard, Dale Winton and Paul O'Grady were to be in line for her replacement[15] but the show was later cancelled. ITV had been refused permission to make changes to the format by Columbia, the US company which owned Blind Date at the time.[11]

However, ITV briefly aired a similar replacement show in 2004 hosted by Davina McCall, called Love on a Saturday Night, and from 2010 to 2019, Take Me Out, hosted by Paddy McGuinness.

Brief return

Blind Date returned on 20 May 2006, as part of ITV's coverage of a concert held outside the Tower of London to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the charity The Prince's Trust. Comedian Patrick Kielty and TV presenter Kate Thornton acted as hosts for the show which featured Dame Edna Everage, Roger Moore, Richard E. Grant and Chico Slimani as contestants.[16]

It returned again on 16 October 2013 to celebrate Black's 50-year career in the entertainment industry. This special one-off was part of another programme, The One and Only Cilla Black, presented by Paul O'Grady.[17] Black returned as host, and producers brought back three of the show's most memorable contestants who were still single, giving them a second chance to win a date.[18] However, the couple's date was not shown.

Revival

A planned Irish revival of the format, hosted by Lucy Kennedy on TV3, was dropped by the broadcaster in June 2015.[19] It was later picked up with comedian Al Porter announced as the host in May 2017.[20]

In February 2017, it was announced that Blind Date would be returning but would now be aired on Channel 5 fourteen years after being cancelled.[2] On 16 March 2017, Paul O'Grady was announced as the show's new presenter who replaced Cilla Black since her death in August 2015[3] and Melanie Sykes provides the voiceover.[4] The revived series began on 17 June 2017 and received mainly positive reviews.[21] Unlike the original version, the revival features both mixed and same-sex couplings.

Celebrity contestants

Blind Date featured celebrities before they became well known. These include:

Weddings

During the show's history, three Blind Date weddings took place and were watched by millions of television viewers. Black was a guest at the weddings.

  • Sue Middleton & Alex Tatham (1991) – met on the show in 1988, married in October 1991 and celebrated 25 years together in 2013.[28] They appeared as mystery guests on The Big Fat Quiz of Everything 2019.
  • Lillian Morris & David Fenson (1994) – they married in February 1994 in Tiverton, Devon.[29]
  • Anna Azonwanna & Paul Pratt (1998) – met on the show in September 1993 and married in October 1998 in Barbados.[30] The other couples also attended the wedding with Cilla.[31]

On 29 December 2001, the episode saw contestant Hannarle Davies from Essex propose to Mark Ackerell from Buckinghamshire; after they fell in love on their date to Vienna, Austria.[32] Davies later admitted that the proposal was a joke.[33]

Cosmopolitan controversy

A contestant named Nicola Gill came on the show, claiming she was a temporary secretary, when she was actually a journalist for Cosmopolitan. When Black found out about this, she exposed the truth about Gill's deception on the show, leading Gill to get booed by the audience, and her date to go away in total shock. Her date was later brought back on a different episode and offered a second chance, but as the one choosing from the three girls (as well as going on the holiday to Nepal by himself).[34]

Episodes

Original

Series

Revival

Series

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
117 June 201723 December 20177
230 December 20173 February 20186
316 June 201818 August 201810
22 December 201829 December 2018
47 April 201919 May 201910
2 June 201916 June 2019

References

  1. 1 2 Jennings, Luke (6 March 1994). "Independent on Sunday, 6 March 1994". The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Blind Date making TV return – but who will replace Cilla Black?". 7 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 Laurence Mozafari (16 March 2017). "Paul O'Grady confirmed as Blind Date's new host on Channel 5". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Melanie Sykes to join Channel 5's Blind Date". Channel 5. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Charlie Brooker's Screen burn: Blind Date". The Guardian. 26 October 2002.
  6. ↑ "ITV2 lines up Blind Date uncut". C21 Media. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "It's Only Love – The Beatle Girls Site – Thelma Pickles".
  8. ↑ "1995 Television Lew Grade Award For A Significant And Popular Programme – BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. BAFTA. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Blind Date makes strong return". BBC News Online. 12 November 2001. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "The Power of Cilla". BBC News Online. 28 October 2001. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  11. 1 2 "ITV gives 'Blind Date' the axe". Digital Spy. 22 June 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Cilla quits Blind Date". BBC News Online. 4 January 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Cilla quits 'Blind Date' after fronting the popular dating-game show for 18 years!". Cillablack.com. 7 January 2003. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013.
  14. 1 2 Bushby, Helen (30 May 2003). "Cilla's Blind Date success story". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "Blind Date to continue". BBC News Online. 6 January 2003.
  16. ↑ The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live at IMDb
  17. ↑ "The One And Only Cilla Black". ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  18. ↑ Tom Eames (14 June 2013). "Cilla Black to host one-off 'Blind Date' on ITV for 50th anniversary". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lucy Kennedy loses out as TV3 drop Blind Date". RTE. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  20. ↑ "Al Porter to channel Cilla Black in TV3's Blind Date reboot – and he's looking for contestants". Irish Independent. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  21. ↑ "Blind Date fans give their verdict on Channel 5 reboot". Digital Spy. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  22. ↑ "Mark Speight". The Guardian. 14 April 2008.
  23. ↑ "Helen Flanagan – CelebsNow".
  24. ↑ "FindArticles.com – CBSi".
  25. ↑ "Interview Jenni Falconer: How Jenni Played a Blinder; GMTV's Jenni Falconer May Have Got Her Big Break on Blind Date but She Still Hasn't Found Love". 11 November 2000. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  26. ↑ "FindArticles.com – CBSi".
  27. ↑ Nikki Grahame
  28. ↑ "Blind Date couple who met on Cilla Black's TV show still happy together after 25 years". Daily Mirror. 30 June 2013.
  29. ↑ "Granada's hot new date: It started 30 years ago as one man's tentative idea. Today, as Blind Date, it is one of the most valuable properties in British television – and, like it or not, a part of our national heritage". The Independent. 6 March 1994. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  30. ↑ "Matchmaker Cilla Black celebrates the third 'Blind Date' wedding with a lavish TV special". Cillablack.com. 10 June 1999. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  31. ↑ "BLIND DATE (Blind Date Wedding 1998)". ITN Source. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  32. ↑ "Blind Date contestant's proposal". BBC News Online. 29 December 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  33. ↑ "Chafford Hundred: Blind Date pair 'wedding' was just a joke". Daily Gazette. 2 January 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  34. ↑ "Cilla Black once outed an undercover Cosmopolitan journalist on Blind Date". Cosmopolitan Magazine. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
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