The Blind Date reboot already sounds like it’s trying too hard

Even in a crowded field of TV dating shows, I was initially elated to hear Blind Date was returning to screens 22 years after Cilla Black said her final ‘ta-ra’.

Paul O’Grady briefly revived the classic dating show for two series in 2017 on Channel 5, but it never managed to set the stars alight and remains a largely forgotten jewel in his showbiz crown. 

Because it was Cilla’s version that captured the zeitgeist of dating shows in the 90s and early 00s. 

Her enthusiasm and unbridled camp was totally mesmerising to me.

Teamed with family-friendly sass from ‘our Graham’ and a format of one singleton picking a date from a panel of three strangers hiding behind a wall that never got tired, I loved Blind Date more than I’ve ever loved any of the countless dating shows that followed. 

Once a date had been chosen, they’d be whisked away to a holiday selected by producers, which ranged from two days basking in golden sands and luxury in Antigua to hiking in Bognor Regis. 

Now, Disney+ has confirmed its Blind Date reboot. I was originally ecstatic, until I realised it actually sounds nothing at all like the original.

In an announcement on Monday, the streaming service said: ‘The new series will begin in a secret location, where contestants must choose between three potential suitors, hidden from view behind the legendary Blind Date wall.’

So far so good.

‘With a host of unique, innovative and head-turning format twists, our daters will see if forever love can truly grow as they spend the summer living together but potential new partners are always lurking behind the wall…’ 

That might sound good – but it doesn’t sound like Blind Date. 

Essentially it’s Married At First Sight on an island, which sounds like a carbon copy of Davina McCall’s upcoming BBC dating show, Stranded on Honeymoon Island.

Maya Jama is also rumoured to be presenting — which presumably means she’s leaving Love Island to front… almost exactly the same show but with a Disney budget and paycheck. 

But who’s it for? Everything about its new format sounds unoriginal and unappealing to the fans who care. Disney’s pitch does little to set Blind Date 2026 apart from the 1,000 other dating shows cluttering up streaming.

And with Love is Blind UK and Married at First Sight particularly at the top of their game, I’m struggling to see what the new Blind Date can bring to an already crowded market.

Except, of course, its heritage as ‘the most successful dating show of all time.’

Which makes you wonder why, if it was so loved, Disney is bothering to tinker with the format at all. 

It certainly doesn’t seem like the new version of the show will feature the studio audience who were such a big part of the original’s success. 

Who can forget their oohs and ahhs at the latest cheesy chat up line, or their gasps when Cilla exposed one contestant with the immortal line ‘she’s a journalist, ladies and gentleman’?

Granted, by the time Cilla’s Blind Date ended, its one viewership of sometimes 18million viewers dwindled to around 5million by 2003; people had grown tired of Blind Date. 

Pop Idol and then The X Factor completely changed the scale of Saturday night television and suddenly Cilla’s kitsch studio with a makeshift sliding wall didn’t cut it compared to the blockbuster budgets Simon Cowell was throwing at finding the next great popstar.

Two decades later though, big money TV has become strangely tired. 

There’s a glaring gap for Blind Date’s simplicity on Saturday nights. Plonk it just before or after Strictly and you’ve got an unbeatable combo of easy television for the whole family. 

It’s relatively gentle approach would also be in contrast to the last primetime Saturday evening dating show – Take Me Out – which was comparatively brutal with its loud ‘lights-off’ rejection. 

Dating shows today feel exclusively for young audiences. At 37, even I feel way too old to watch Love Island and while Love Is Blind UK was surprisingly excellent, it’s still sexy and young(ish). 

So much of Blind Date’s charm wasn’t remotely sexy. And if it did need to be modernised, why not look to First Dates instead of Love Island and MAFS? 

After 12 years, the show is as wonderful and beloved as ever — proof that simplicity works. Its ability to show that anyone can find love, no matter their story or insecurity, gets me right in the gut every time.

Blind Date could be First Dates with a bigger budget, in a bigger slot, for a bigger audience.

Saturday night TV is in desperate need of something like that. 

I wouldn’t have bet on Blind Date being relevant again — but look at the success of Gladiators. 

That era of 90s Saturday-night telly was never bettered, and it’s still drawing in new generations now. But crucially, the format has barely changed. 

This feels like such a missed opportunity for Blind Date; to instead churn out another deeply unoriginal dating show.

Disney+ can still change course and bring us the old-school Blind Date we need. And that would be a nice surprise surprise. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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