Blind Date

Everything that's bad about TV. And the public too. A dulled-up bint will walk down the steps & say to Cilla "If there's one thing I hate it's Mummys boys, men who wear Orange and ... erm, blokes who eat banana's" or something stupid like that. Cue three gormless blokes to be led out on stage and yep, you got it, one's a Mummys boy, one's in an orange suit & the other one's got a bunch of bananas in his hand.

One poor sod who was a contestant a few years back was crucified by the show & the media as he went on a supposedly singles show but had a girlfriend. I know of at least half a dozen people who've been daft enough to go on Blind Date, every one of which was in a relationship at the time.

It's well past what sell by date it ever had.

In 1985, Blind Date was born and became hugely popular throughout the entire nation but from the late 90s it was getting dangerously out of date, I personally loved it wondering how "last week's contestants got on", listening to Cilla Black's loud, cheerful, harsh-on-the-ears voice but all things need a stop and BLIND DATE stopped long after it needed to for the sake of its popularity or else, why would there have been people who already had partners, or people who were already engaged or possibly married or people who already knew each other that went on the show?! Everything was going wrong - after over ten years of single boys/girls who wanted a partner desperately! I was very sad when I heard in the New Year of 2003 the show would stop in the near future. It stopped because Cilla Black (born in 1942) was getting on and was getting bored of presenting it. I hoped that she'd reconsider but now, as I am a lot older and wiser, I personally don't blame her! Her own life at that time was tragic and all the rowing, playing away and unsuccessful dates between the contestants were probably getting on her nerves - Well done, Cilla! So, there are many reasons why it was long past its sell-by-date:

1. To start with, the dates turned out the way Cilla Black had intended them to be - romantic, one single man/woman finally meeting the one they love but ever since about 1998/1999/2000 a hell of a lot of people went on that show just to get their 15 minutes of fame and their poor chosen dates were left heartbroken. 2. The dates usually turned out to be nothing but disasters leading to major rows! It looked like a chat show where unhappy people argue. 3. The couples who never got on used to play games on each other and have affairs with other people, who were usually natives. 4. All these things must've been heartbreaking and actually unhealthy for the contestants, let alone Cilla who was in her 60s at the time of "Blind Date"'s permanent end.

I did like sitting in the lounge on a Saturday night with a takeaway and watch this fun-filled, but somewhat stale game show hosted by the legendary Saturday night hostess. Well, nothing lasts forever - it can't last forever, even TV Programs. R.I.P Blind Date!

Cilla Black, now with a better dress sence (no more cheesy checkered suits!) hosts a show where a man/woman chooses a partner out of three people and they go on holiday. The thing is, they've never met and the questions are usually really stupid and how you can find the love of your life through these three questions is daft. The following week, the couple come back. Will they get together? Probably not!

However, it's cosy, easy to watch, funny programming. And Cilla seems the perfect scouse-matchmaker (even though we don't know what one of them is). Good TV never to end.

So if you're single and up 4 a laugh, go on BLIND DER-DATE with your host Miss Cilla Black!

The outline: one contestant has to choose between three, unseen-to-whom members of the opposite sex, their only help being the answers to three questions asked by them to them (capped off by a recap by 'Our Graham'). The resulting 'couple' are then off for a holiday (anywhere from Alton Towers to the Seychelles), having picked a card from one of several (although, typically, the guy acts like the perfect gentleman, allowing the girl to pick). A week on, and they return, complete with footage of their holiday, and their verdict on one another.

Obviously fixed show. Gullible viewers believe that the guy/girl choosing asks three questions of his/her own choice, to which the three hopefuls of the opposite sex reply with their own responses. The more cynical viewer, however, will surely realize that the contestants rarely fail to offer a witty, intelligent reply with remarkable spontaneity, despite often looking a sandwich short of a picnic.

Contestants are usually selected for their good looks, although a contestant (usually a guy) considerably less blessed in the looks department than the other two will, on occasion, be selected; presumably for entertainment value.

It could well be that the contestants haven't met the member/s of the opposite sex before the show is filmed, but they've certainly been informed as to the questions and the 'correct' responses to which. It also, as the other poster hinted, is a tad suspicious when at least one of the hopefuls displays a characteristic/trait that the girl/guy choosing states as one of their pet hates. All very amusing and entertaining (if you've a mental age lower than five, and hence lack the intelligence to see through).

Invariably, also, the 'happy' couple tend not to get on too well, with the girl in particular usually complaining about one or several of the guy's habits, upon their return. I believe that only ever one couple has been made through the show (a pair that got married).

Still: it could be worse, and it's harmless; probably appeals to morons, though.

The show that will forever be linked with Cilla Black this was the first TV dating show that all others aspire to be like.

With its dodgy pick up lines, and cheesy catchphrases Cilla Black ruled Saturday night TV for years with this show, and quite rightly show.

Yes, perhaps it was past its best towards the end of its run, but everything has its time, and fairplay to Black for announcing live on air that she was quitting.

It's been revived recently, but for many it will be associated with Black.