First Dates’ behind-the-scenes secrets – from axed couples to last-minute swaps and faking chemistry for the cameras

FIRST Dates is one of the nation’s most beloved dating shows, but there’s a lot more to the Channel 4 hit than may immediately meet the eye.

Season 18 of the hit dating show aired in January and viewers couldn’t get enough of those hysterical antics, awkward dates, and classic sob stories.

Now thanks to Reddit, questions like how much of the show is scripted, and how many people are in the restaurant during filming are finally being answered.

Although the restaurant is indeed real, along with the food, some other elements on the show are enhanced for the viewers’ entertainment.

It’s not just a case of two singletons rocking up to the restaurant for a blind date – there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that viewers don’t get to see.

'AWKWARD'

First Dates fans left cringing as ‘escort’ strips off & reveals embarrassing date

Not OK

I went on a first date & it lasted less than 2 minutes - he was rude so I left

One user on Reddit posed the question “Has anyone been on First Dates? If so what was it like compared to what we see on TV?”

Users were quick to respond with answers, and most were actually friends with people who had been on the show.

One user said: “A friend’s sister went on it. She had 0 attraction or shared interest with the guy she got paired up with and said it was really awkward as she felt obliged to make it more interesting for the cameras.”

They added: “Even worse, he was quite into her apparently and she went along with it for the post-dinner conversation bit, but as soon as the cameras stopped rolling she was out of there.”

Another chimed in: “Had a friend who went on it. Apparently his date wasn’t interesting enough that they didn’t bother showing it on TV, you could just see him in the background. He says they only show about 10% of the dates on TV.”

“I had a friend who went on. They talked up the person he’d been set up with, then five minutes before he got there they switched it up and gave him someone he was totally incompatible with. They also sat him next to someone that they’d likely told to be flirtatious with. He was quite annoyed,” a third user shared.

For the majority of its seasons, the First Dates was set at the Paternoster Chop House in London.

However, it relocated to another fine dining spot in Manchester back in 2020.

It is now based at The Anthologist Manchester in St Peters Square.

While there has been some success stories from the show, for the most part, the couples don’t tend to work out.

First Dates is available to watch on All 4