Blind Date stars who found fame after the show from Amanda Holden to CBBC celebs

Blind Date was one of TV’s most popular shows during its 18 years on ITV.

It returned to our screens on Channel 5 in 2017 with Paul O’Grady replacing the late Cilla Black as host.

However, by the summer of 2019, after being on air for two years, the show was being watched by fewer than a million viewers.

Former contestant and Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden has recently hinted that she is the new presenter for a rebooted version of the dating show.

During a chat with Woman's Own magazine, the actress revealed it's "always been a dream of mine to have my own dating show" and announced that she is excited to be "working on something special with the BBC at the moment".

Following the news that Amanda may be returning to host Blind Date for its reboot, Daily Star has decided to look back at some other famous faces who found fame on the dating show.

Amanda Holden

Amanda made her first television appearance on Blind Date in 1991 aged 19.

Wearing a black mini dress as she perched on a stool, the blonde beauty got a huge cheer from the crowd as she introduced herself to Cilla.

Amanda was asked which famous man she'd like to spend some time with and she answered, Hollywood star Jack Nicholson.

When Cilla questioned her choice in men, Amanda cheekily replied: "I like to experience mature men."

Things didn't go quite to plan for Amanda on the primetime show as she wasn't chosen by Barnaby to go on a date.

True to her word, Amanda went on to meet her first husband Les Dennis when she was 22 and he was 38.

They got married in June 1995 but later separated and divorced in 2003.

Amanda, 50, is now one of the most recognisable stars on British television and appears as a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

She is now married to music producer Chris Hughes, the father of her two daughters Lexie and Hollie.

Ortis Deley

Ortis was 22 years old when he appeared on Blind Date back in 1995.

Remembering host Cilla as the person who gave him his break into TV, he thanked her for the "memories" in a touching tweet when she passed away in August.

He wrote: "Just heard the news of Cilla Black's passing. I owe that lady a lot. Thanks for the memories/opportunity. #RIPCillaBlack "

Since his stint on Blind Date, Ortis has appeared alongside actor Clive Owen and Hollywood beauty Jennifer Aniston in the 2006 feature film Derailed.

He is best known for presenting the Children's BBC Saturday morning flagship series Live & Kicking.

In early 2009, Ortis joined the popular technology show The Gadget Show as a co-presenter with Suzi Perry, Jon Bentley and Jason Bradbury, making his debut in the Road Trip Special episode.

The 47-year-old TV personality was among other CBBC presenters to star in the 30th anniversary of CBBC in 2015.

Jenni Falconer

Jenni tried her luck on Blind Date in 1994 when she was a privately-educated university student.

The then 18-year-old bombshell matched with fish fryer Donda Michaelas.

They didn't hit it off when spending four days together in Brittany but their appearance on the dating has led to success for both of them.

Scottish Jenni put her studies at Leeds University on hold to concentrate on her career in television after the show.

She joined ITV as a reporter on the current affair programme 3D before presenting We Can Work It Out.

The TV star later landed a job on GMTV's Entertainment Today in 2000 which provided to be her breakthrough.

Jenni, 45, is now a parent to daughter Ella with husband James Midgley and is often seen on This Morning as a roving reporter as well as a radio presenter.

Donda says he was flooded with TV contracts after Blind Date but he realised that he was happiest frying fish.

It was reported back in 2017 that he now earns £50,000 a year from his business.

Mark Speight

Mark looked completely different when he appeared on Blind Date over 30 years ago.

Dressed smartly in a tuxedo, the dating hopeful tried to impress Cilla by performing his lizard impression.

Despite being rejected on the show back in 1989, he managed to win over the hearts of the nation when he appeared on the programme.

Mark went on to find fame as the presenter of the BBC's Smart Art programme in 1994, which he fronted for 14 years.

He also presented the children's quiz show See It Saw It, where he met his fiancee Natasha Collins.

The late CBBC star found his partner's scalded body in the bath in 2008, the morning after they had taken a cocktail of sleeping tablets and vodka.

Mark's body was found hanging from a bannister on the roof of a building next to Paddington railway station in April of the same year.

Nikki Grahame

Nikki got the chance to pick from three men when she appeared on Blind Date in 2003.

One lucky bachelor got the chance to go take out the pocket-rocket but it didn't work out between the pair.

She was visibly unimpressed when the screen went back and revealed contestant Lee.

On her return to the show, Nikki complained that her date had a little amount of chest hair and Lee criticised her for being too fussy about her hair and makeup.

Nikki later exploded back onto our screens in 2006 when she entered the Big Brother house.

Her meltdowns and her tearful 'Who is she?' rant have gone down in reality TV history, as well as her on-screen romance with fellow housemate Pete Bennett.

Nikki's devastated mother Sue appeared on This Morning earlier this week to discuss the star's tragic anorexia battle.

The reality star, 38, checked into a specialist facility last week after her desperate friends managed to raise enough cash to start paying for life-saving care.

Sue told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that gyms closing and Nikki's growing isolation as she lived alone triggered her relapse.

Ed Byrne

Ed is best known for being a comedian but his humour didn't seem to impress the Blind Date contestants.

He wasn't picked for a date back in 1993 but he's since gone on to forge a successful career on television.

After building up his act on observational comedy, Ed was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

He has also appeared in Father Ted and performed voice-over work in the Carphone Warehouse adverts.

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Ed, 48, has also developed huge success on the international circuit where he has performed to full capacity audiences in Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The comedian frequently appears on BBC stand-up comedy programme Mock the Week as the most common guest panellist, having appeared on 66 episodes as of January 2021.

He married theatre publicist Claire Walker in 2008 and the couple lives in Essex and have two sons, Cosmo and Magnus.

Fellow comic Dara Ó Briain was best man at his wedding, returning the favour after Byrne was previously Ó Briain's best man in 2006.

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