Why Paul O’Grady is the perfect match for Blind Date
Name: Paul O’Grady.
Age: 61.
Occupation: The new host of Blind Date.
It’s been a while. Remind me, what was Blind Date again? It’s only the greatest dating series in television history. A singleton chooses between three potential romantic interests who are hidden behind a screen. No peeking.
What if they choose someone ugly? The point of Blind Date is that you pick by personality. Looks fade – it’s what’s inside that counts.
Yeah, but what if they do choose someone ugly? Then they pull a funny face and dump them as quickly as possible, usually.
Wasn’t this Cilla Black’s old show? Yes it was. Cilla presented Blind Date between 1985 and 2003, 374 episodes in total. She was responsible for turning it into a phenomenon, before resigning live on air without telling any of the production staff.
So why has Paul O’Grady got the job? Because Noel Fielding had already been snapped up by The Great British Bake Off, and the Evening Standard nabbed George Osborne.
Really? No, it’s because he was Cilla’s best friend.
He was? Yes. When she died in 2015, he gave a funny, touching eulogy at her funeral, calling her his “sister”. He is planning to write a book about their friendship. The fact that he’ll be presenting Blind Date is an especially sweet gesture.
Isn’t he quite busy already? O’Grady has a weekly show on BBC Radio 2, and he writes and presents a couple of TV programmes about dogs. But this is Blind Date we’re talking about. You just have to say: “What’s your name and where do you come from?” eight times each episode, and make a joke about buying a hat once a month and you’re done. It’s not exactly brain surgery.
Will this version be faithful to the original Blind Date ? It will be better than faithful, because it will feature LGBT contestants for the first time.
Wow. Take Me Out doesn’t even do that. Good, isn’t it?
All in all, this sounds like a decent commission. Nice work, ITV! Erm, actually it’s going to be broadcast on Channel 5.
Really? Good lord, I won’t be watching that then. You say that now, but it’ll make a change from Naughty Toddlers Make You Laugh Out Loud.
Do say: “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Paul O’Grady!”
Don’t say: “Coming up next: another documentary on benefits Britain.”