First, because it was so great to analyse. Did you spot the way which Cilla patronized the females but didn't to the males? Did you notice how Cilla made huge points about how good people looked, when ironically the contestants couldn't actually see each other? Ah, hurrah for feminist theory, dominant ideologies and the Frankfurt School! Second, because it was the easiest way of getting onto television in prime time, more of which in a moment. But first, let's chip away at the show itself. Everybody's collective Mum played matchmaker to three girls and one guy and later, three guys and one girl. He asked three questions and the females replied as best they can. If you were a crisp flavour, which one would you be? Or will you pick number two who likes a bit of meat, maybe you should take a butchers! Or will you pick number three who wants to get saucy with you but also has a strange aversion to chickens. Cilla rubbed this in... Host, , with the question-asking contestant The winning couple got to go on a trip together. The location of the blind date was chosen by one of the couple drawing an envelope from several different ones provided but see Trivia below. Then they left, happily, but then they came back next week to tell us about it. The roles were reversed later in the show, so one girl picked one of three guys. The other half of the show was about finding out how the dates from last week went. This was the funny bit of the show because more often than not it wasn't so much Blind Date but Blind Hate. The short film of the week tended to show their good sides, but it was the bit afterwards that was the funny part. The people were filmed talking about their partner retrospectively. This was viewed on the sofa in the studio and whilst one person was talking read: bitching about the other, that person's reactions were shown in a cutaway in the corner of the screen. The show produced several marriages in its time, to which the telly cameras were always invited as was Cilla, who liked them because she got to buy a new hat. The most well known Blind Date marriage was Alex Tatham and Sue Middleton who met on the show in 1988 and then got married 3 years later. Finally, it was well-known in the industry that many people used the show as a stepping stone to stardom, rather than as a serious attempt to find a compatible partner. But by 2002 ratings were falling, so they 're-energised' the show. At this point Cilla seemed to realise the show was on its way out, and so at the beginning of 2003 she revealed on the show that she was quitting at the end of Series 18 in May surprising the production team in the process, apparently. For a while ITV seemed confident that the show was going to continue with a new host, but in the end they gave up and replaced it with instead. After it ended, Blind Date remained a fond memory. Revivals were discussed every so often, but they never came to series. Then in 2017, Channel 5 said they would give it a go, with the Liverpudlian to replace Our Cilla. Key moments In 1998, the journey for one Blind Date was all planned, all the crew were ready to go and film it, everyone had their passports. There was just one thing missing, though. The girl never turned up. So, the bloke had to go to Africa on his own! Oh how we laughed when he drank wine with elephants! Oh how we split our sides when we saw him go on the plane, sitting next to a photo of his date! What was even funnier was watching trying to fill up the time in the interview! Nicola Gill was rumbled as being a reporter for Cosmopolitan magazine undercover, and was going on the show as the basis for an article rather than as a genuine chance for romance. However, canny Cilla rumbled her in the studio the following week and sent her away with a flea in her ear. Cilla recommended the format to LWT after seeing Perfect Match in Australia. However, Cilla was not the only entertainer with an interest in the format: according to his autobiography, also saw the Australian show and pitched the idea to Philip Jones at Thames TV. Unfortunately Jones saw too many potential liabilities in the format what if one of the contestants had an accident on a trip abroad? Theme music Composed by Laurie Holloway. Trivia About a year before 'Blind Date' began, a non-broadcasted pilot titled 'It's a Hoot! It was never seen on television until 2004, when snippets of the show appeared in the Channel 4 documentary '' The choice was shown to be apparently random because some of the blind dates during the series were for exotic locations, and others were for a week in Skegness or similar. However, the envelopes containing the holiday locations all had the same place on them. Irish comedian Ed Byrne was on the show, obviously before he was famous but he could still hold an audience. Britain's Got Talent beckons The show featured as part of ITV's telethons in 1990 and 1992. In 1999, Cilla turned up on the BBC's Comic Relief Red Nose Day marathon to present a game with Lenny Henry choosing between Twiggy, Helena Bonham-Carter and Elle McPherson. Merchandise VHS Web links See also 2017, Channel 5 revival.