Dinner Date – The Dates

(NB The details will be a little sparse, I don’t want to spoil the programme!)

When it came to the actual dates, I was genuinely just looking forward to meeting some different people in a really weird situation, and getting involved in the filming itself. For the first one, a car came to take me door to door which was really handy, and gave me a chance to have a couple of drinks en route. My first date had a South African themed main course, so I bought South African wine and some Biltong (a local delicacy!). I was pleased to see that the girl was very pretty, and we got on just fine. The filming got in the way of any kind of natural flow, filming multiple angles of arriving at the front door, and our first meet, and then having to avoid certain topics during conversation (friends, family, celebrities, work places…). However, we were in it together, and went with the flow. The girl had been filmed all afternoon preparing the meal, and so I knew the food wouldn’t be at its best since it was “over prepared”…and the time spent cooking was set by the filming duration. The dinner setting was a little unconventional, and I spent a fair amount of the time relaxing the girl, but she seemed to find me funny, and laughed at the right points. I was left alone quite a few times while they filmed the food being served, and interviewed the girls reactions to me. The producer/camera woman was also quite “hectic” so I was trying to relax her a few times too! When it was time to leave, my date was quite keen to give me a kiss, so I obviously hadn’t completely repulsed her!  I won’t give any more details, you will just have to watch! We finished filming a lot later than planned, but Im a night owl, so not a problem…although I think my date was pretty shattered.

The second date was very similar, but was a little more relaxed so we got a bit more conversation in. Again, I bought gifts themed with the food which went down well, and the cooking seemed a little more relaxed. We got on well, and we laughed a LOT, much of which will never be able to be televised, but it was another good evening. So far, I was pleased with my selection of dates, and menus. I was definitely finding it awkward being served on though, I wanted to help with the plates, or clearing up, or something!  It was also getting tireing having to give on-camera responses to EVERYTHING! What did I think the girl would be like? What as I expecting from the meal?  After I arrived, What was the girl like? Did she live up to expectations? Did I think we would get on well? What was the food like? Did she cook well?..... you get the idea! Before, during and after every part of the meal I had to give responses. Fortunately, with my familiarity to what was needed from a technical point of view as well as editorially, I was ready for it and the producer was REALLY appreciative…it made the whole process a lot easier. So much so, the series producer actually came to the last day of filming to meet me and to thank me in person!

The morning of the third date, I actually woke up expecting to have to give response on camera...seriously! I think all this “fly on the wall” TV was getting to me! My third date came to the door (4 times…for filming purposes!) in a really nice dress and had clearly made a bit of effort, which was nice. Although she did confess that she only cooked things that went “ding” (microwave meals!) so it was interesting to see how the food would pan out. The wine really flowed during this evening, which was great. There was a technical problem, so we were left for about an hour just bantering and drinking. Fortunately, we got on well so it was good fun, and a chance to have “real” conversation. It felt a bit more like a date than any of the other evenings. Since we had covered the fact that I used to be a professional magician, I was encouraged by the producer to do a magic trick during the date….we will have to see if this is included in the final edit. It went down very well though.  We had a slight car problem, and a delayed taxi, which meant we had even more time hanging around and chatting…it will very interesting to hear what she had to say at the end of the date! In fact, the same applies to all the dates. They were all attractive, good fun, and I got on well with all three…I will be very interested to hear their verdicts!

The final day of filming was back at my house. I had to give blow by blow accounts of each meal, each date, each girl and then deliver my final selection of date! Anouther full on filming session! And then it was off to take my selected girl out for the final date! 

I can't tell you any more, but needless to say, I had a really good fun, mad, surreal week. All of the girls were nice and good fun, and I didn't have any nightmare dates, which would have been a bit of a nightmare! If you want to find out what happened you will just have to tune in. The air date has not been announced yet, but I will hopefully post the video onto Youtube once its been on. If you fancy getting involved, I highly recommend it, you will have a great time (hopefully!). If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch by visiting my video production company webiste.