The British game show was first hosted by the legendary Cilla Black before Paul O’Grady took over
Blind Date was originally hosted by Cilla Black(Image: LWT)
The reboot of eighties game show Blind Date has finally found its host.
Originally hosted by the late Cilla Black, the show saw total strangers getting to know each other on stage with a barrier between them. The format saw three aspiring daters quizzed by a single contestant of the opposite sex with a live audience watching on.
Over the course of the episode each contestant would reveal more about themselves and eventually one of the three would be chosen to go on a date. Only then would the newly-matched pair be revealed to each other face-to-face.
The show sparked some iconic moments which still go viral today, including no-nonsense host Cilla’s brutal takedown of a Cosmopolitan journalist who had gone undercover on the show for an article.
Get Disney+ for £5.99
A Disney+ subscribtion now starts at £5.99 per month and provides access to hit series like Rivals, Only Murders in the Building and The Bear, plus countless titles from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and more.
“I feel awfully, deeply saddened by this,” Cilla began while the cameras were still rolling. “But you don’t work as a temporary secretary, I know for a fact that actually you’re an undercover journalist and you’ve robbed somebody of coming on a proper blind date,” prompting boos from the live audience.
Cilla hosted the original series from 1985 until 2003, with Paul O’Grady cast as host when it was once against revived in 2017. Now, Disney Plus are rebooting it again and this time Love Island, I’m A Celebrity and Traitors US star Maura Higgins will be at the helm.
Irish TV personality Maura shot to fame on the fifth series of ITV2 reality show Love Island back in 2019. She shared the iconic villa with the likes of Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury – who went on to marry – as well as the season’s eventual winners, Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea.
Announcing the news today (August 26), Angela Jain, Head of Content, Disney+ EMEA, commented: “Maura is the perfect match for our version of ‘Blind Date’. Her distinctive straight-talking humour, coupled with her experience as a reality dating show contestant, means we know she has the gravitas plus the wit to bring ‘Blind Date’ to new audiences. We’re very much looking forward to Maura helping our daters navigate their own journeys to find love as she steps into the famed ‘Blind Date’ host role.”
Meanwhile, speaking at Edinburgh TV Festival, Sean Doyle, Vice President of Unscripted Originals at Disney+ also confirmed: “We have Maura Higgins hosting Blind Date which is great.”
He continued: “I was concerned that we had such a great track record of hit shows and dating shows is such a crowded market.
“I thought it was risky launching a brand new dating show and I think bringing Blind Date to Disney+ is head turning and will feel completely different to the original format.”
Disney Plus announced it was rebooting the hit game show back in 2025. At the time they teased that it would “bigger, better and bolder than ever.”
Its synopsis continued: “The new series will begin in a secret Blind Date location, where contestants must choose between three potential suitors, hidden from view behind the legendary Blind Date wall, the only thing standing between them and their potential true love just metres away.
‘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…”
A release date for Blind Date is yet to be announced.
