Blind Date The Game

1. Blind Date Game Show Questions
2. Blind Date Games Online
3. Blind Date Tv Show Contestants

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.

Welcome to Girl Games, the largest free game site made just for girl gamers!This is the place to play free Dress Up games in popular categories such as Animals and Pets Games, Beach Games, Cartoons Games, Celebrity Games, Fantasy Games, Fashion Games, Kids Games, Princess Games, Teen Games, Travel Games, Halloween Games, Christmas Games, and much more! 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 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. Nov 30, 1985  With Cilla Black, Graham Skidmore, Paul O'Grady, Melanie Sykes. A dating series in which members of the public choose from three contestants for a blind date on the basis of answers to questions posed by them. Blind Date (also known as Your Big Moment) is an American television game show which aired on ABC, NBC, and then DuMont after many years on radio. Six men vied for dates with three unseen women by having conversations with them, in a show similar to the.

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][3]Paul O'Grady presents the revived series.^[4]Melanie Sykes became the new voice of the show, taking over the role most famously held by Graham Skidmore in the original series.^[5]

• 2History
• 6Episodes
  • 6.1Original
  • 6.2Revival

Format[edit]

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 (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 series (2002–03), the format was tweaked; the 'Ditch or Date?' twist was added to the show.^[6] Also, a behind-the-scenes companion show, called Blind Date: Kiss & Tell was produced for ITV2 and hosted by Sarah Cawood and Brendan Courtney.^[7]

Blind Date Game Show Questions

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

History[edit]

Production[edit]

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.^[8] 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[edit]

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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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'.^[11]

Viewing figures declined to 5 million by 2003.^{[citation needed]} The final episode in May 2003 was seen by 2.9 million viewers.^[12]

Cancellation[edit]

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.^[13][14] 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.^[15] Production was halted after the series ended; Trisha Goddard, Dale Winton and Paul O'Grady were to be in line for her replacement^[16] 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.^[12]

However, ITV briefly aired a similar replacement show in 2004 hosted by Davina McCall, called Love on a Saturday Night and since 2010, Take Me Out, hosted by Paddy McGuinness which is still airing.

Brief return[edit]

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.^[17]

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.^[18]Blind Date producers brought back three of the show's most memorable contestants who were still single, giving them a second chance to win a date.^[19] However, the couple's date was not shown.

Revival[edit]

A planned Irish revival of the format, hosted by Lucy Kennedy on TV3, was dropped by the broadcaster in June 2015.^[20] It was later picked up with comedian Al Porter announced as the host in May 2017.^[21]

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^[4] and Melanie Sykes provides the voiceover.^[5] The revived series began on 17 June 2017 and received mainly positive reviews.^[22]

Celebrity contestants[edit]

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

• Mark Speight (1989)^[23][24]
• Amanda Holden (1991)^[25]
• Ed Byrne (1993)^[26]
• Jenni Falconer (1994)^[27]
• Ortis Deley (1995)^[28]
• Nikki Grahame (2003)^[29]
• A Comic Relief sketch in 1993 had Mr Bean on the show. The sketch featured Rowan Atkinson as Bean, Barbara Durkin as Bean's date Tracy, and Cilla Black. The other contestants were played by Alan Cumming and Paul Opacic.
• A 2002 celebrity Christmas edition featured Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Alex Sibley (2002)^[15]

Weddings[edit]

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.^[30] 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.^[31]
• Anna Azonwanna & Paul Pratt (1998) – met on the show in September 1993 and married October 1998 in Barbados.^[32] The other couples also attended the wedding with Cilla.^[33]

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.^[34]

Minor controversy[edit]

A contestant named Nicola Gill came on the show, claiming she was a temporary secretary, when she was actually a journalist for Cosmopolitan Magazine. 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).^[35]

Episodes[edit]

Original[edit]

Series[edit]

Revival[edit]

Series[edit]

Specials[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abJennings, Luke (6 March 1994). 'Independent on Sunday, 6 March 1994'. The Independent. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
2. ^ ^ab'Blind Date making TV return – but who will replace Cilla Black?'. 7 February 2017.
3. ^'Blind Date is Back! Vicky Pattison takes over from Cilla Black as host of iconic Saturday night show'. 7 February 2017.
4. ^ ^abLaurence Mozafari (16 March 2017). 'Paul O'Grady confirmed as Blind Date's new host on Channel 5'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
5. ^ ^ab'Melanie Sykes to join Channel 5's Blind Date'. Channel 5. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
6. ^'Charlie Brooker's Screen burn: Blind Date'. The Guardian. 26 October 2002.
7. ^'ITV2 lines up Blind Date uncut'. C21 Media. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
8. ^'It's Only Love - The Beatle Girls Site - Thelma Pickles'.
9. ^'1995 Television Lew Grade Award For A Significant And Popular Programme - BAFTA Awards'. awards.bafta.org. BAFTA. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
10. ^'Blind Date makes strong return'. BBC News Online. 12 November 2001. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
11. ^'The Power of Cilla'. BBC News Online. 28 October 2001. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
12. ^ ^ab'ITV gives 'Blind Date' the axe'. Digital Spy. 22 June 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
13. ^'Cilla quits Blind Date'. BBC News Online. 4 January 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
14. ^'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.
15. ^ ^abBushby, Helen (30 May 2003). 'Cilla's Blind Date success story'. BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
16. ^'Blind Date to continue'. BBC News Online. 6 January 2003.
17. ^The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live on IMDb
18. ^'The One And Only Cilla Black'. ITV Press Centre. Retrieved 2 October 2013.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
19. ^Tom Eames (14 June 2013). 'Cilla Black to host one-off 'Blind Date' on ITV for 50th anniversary'. Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
20. ^'Lucy Kennedy loses out as TV3 drop Blind Date'. RTE. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
21. ^'Al Porter to channel Cilla Black in TV3's Blind Date reboot - and he's looking for contestants'. independent.ie. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
22. ^'Blind Date fans give their verdict on Channel 5 reboot'. Digital Spy. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
23. ^'Mark Speight'. 14 April 2008.
24. ^'Revealed: The spot where tragic TV star Mark Speight's body hung undiscovered for six days'.
25. ^'Helen Flanagan - CelebsNow'.
26. ^'FindArticles.com - CBSi'.
27. ^'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 requires |journal= (help)
28. ^'FindArticles.com - CBSi'.
29. ^Nikki Grahame
30. ^'Blind Date couple who met on Cilla Black's TV show still happy together after 25 years'. Daily Mirror. 30 June 2013.
31. ^'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.
32. ^'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.
33. ^'BLIND DATE (Blind Date Wedding 1998)'. ITN Source. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
34. ^'Blind Date contestant's proposal'. BBC News Online. 29 December 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
35. ^'Cilla Black once outed an undercover Cosmopolitan journalist on Blind Date'. Cosmopolitan Magazine. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
36. ^'Blind Date is getting a pantomime Christmas special'. 19 December 2017.

External links[edit]

• Blind Date (UK) at Channel5.com
• Blind Date (UK) on IMDb
• Blind Date (UK) at BFI
• Blind Date (UK) at UKGameshows.com

Blind Date Games Online

Blind Date (also known as Your Big Moment) is an American television game show which aired on ABC, NBC, and then DuMont after many years on radio.

• 1Format #1

Format #1[edit]

Blind Date Tv Show Contestants

Six men vied for dates with three unseen women by having conversations with them, in a show similar to the future The Dating Game. The men, who were typically either servicemen or college students, were known as the 'Hunters' and tried to win a date with the women, known as the 'Hunted,' for an expense-paid date on the town which included an invitation to a popular local nightclub.

Radio Version[edit]

In this version, the six men (initially local servicemen) sat on one side of a wall, and the three women sat on the other side. Two men each would have about two minutes to explain by telephone his best points to one woman. After they both had their turn, the woman chose the date she found more interesting, with the winners escorted through swinging doors to meet their blind dates.^[1]

Winners received a night on the town, which on the premiere episode included a nightclub invitation to the Stork Club, $5 in pocket money, and a chaperoned ride home. The losers received a friendly kiss from Francis, $15 in cash, and tickets to a popular local theater production as consolation prizes. And the women were each paid $50 for their appearances.^[1]

The radio show began its network run as a summer replacement for the Maxwell House Coffee Time program, and it was fairly risqué for its time. The Billboard review for the first show concluded with, 'All in all, it's a lot of fun and if program could be broadcast 'for adults only' it'd be a great filler inner for Snooks and Frank Morgan. Since broadcasting is a family medium it doesn't belong on the air.'^[2]

Television Version[edit]

In this version, two men (college students or servicemen) were seated on one side of a wall and telephoned one of the women sitting on the other side. They attempted to talk her into accepting a date with one of them. On the basis of voice and specially prepared questions, she chose the most impressive one of the two for her affections. Those two people became a couple. This process continued until three couples were formed.

At the end of the show, the audience determined which couple would receive the romantic night on the town by means of applause.

Format #2[edit]

In 1953, the television format was changed to viewers writing to the show, and asking about a date with a type of person, or to go on a date to a special event.^[3]

Broadcast history[edit]

Blind Date started on the stage of the Hollywood Theatre in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as G.I. Blind Date,^[4] a radio show designed to entertain servicemen at the Army Radio Technical Training School in town. The first show was broadcast on KELO radio in January 1943.^[5]G.I. Blind Date was created by Joe Floyd, Cliff Gill and Vera Thomson as a between-movie entertainment feature.^[5] Seeing its success, Floyd peddled the idea around to other markets, eventually selling it to NBC radio where it first aired July 8, 1943, hosted by Arlene Francis.^[2][6][4]

The radio show grew into a television show. This version originally aired on ABC from May 5, 1949, to September 20, 1951, moved to NBC from June 7 to July 15, 1952, then ran on DuMont (originally as Your Big Moment) from May 19 to September 15, 1953.^[7] The ABC version aired Fridays at 8:30pm EST during the start of the 1949-50 TV season, and Thursdays at 9:30pm EST during the 1950-51 season.

Arlene Francis was the host of the ABC and NBC versions, and had hosted the radio version since 1943. Melvyn Douglas became host when the show moved to DuMont, but was replaced after the third show by Jan Murray. ^[7]

Episode status[edit]

One episode with Francis from 1950 is held among collectors, while the August 25, 1953, show with Murray is held by the Paley Center for Media.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abDunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 96-97. ISBN978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
2. ^ ^abKochler, Joseph (1943-07-17). ''Blind Date' (review)'. The Billboard. p. 12. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
3. ^Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows - 1946-Present (9 ed.). p. 154. ISBN978-0-345-49773-4. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
4. ^ ^ab'Maxwell Takes 'Blind Date' As 'Hot' Fill-In'. The Billboard. 1943-07-10. p. 4. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
5. ^ ^ab''Blind Date' Idea Legal Battle Goes on in Sioux Falls'. The Billboard. 1944-10-21. p. 4. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
6. ^Karolevitz, Bob (1990). Joe Floyd: A Helluva Salesman. Dakota Homestead Publishers.
7. ^ ^abMcNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television (4 ed.). Penguin Books. pp. 103, 936. ISBN9780140267372. Retrieved 2019-08-25.

Bibliography[edit]

• David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN1-59213-245-6
• Alex McNeil, Total Television, Fourth edition (New York: Penguin Books, 1996) ISBN0-14-024916-8
• Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 154. ISBN9780307483201.

External links[edit]

• Blind Date on IMDb