[Kaz]

From today's Sunday Mirror online:

DAVINA McCall is to take over Cilla Black's crown as TV's queen of romance.

She has been lined up to front Love On A Saturday Night, a top secret new ITV1 series lined up to replace Blind Date.

The Big Brother favourite will juggle a series of all-live dating games in a series ITV chiefs described as "Blind Date, but with bags of twists."

One strand will see a girl date three boys at once - all of them in masks, while another sees Desperate and Dateless viewers given a makeover by experts.

And in a bid to make the show fun for all the family, an elderly Mrs Merton-style couple will sample modern approaches to romance, such as speed dating.

"It will be good, clean fun with the added spice of being live where anything can happen," said one senior Granada TV executive. "Davina is a natural for the show - there's just nobody better than her at keeping together a live broadcast."

In January Cilla, 60, sensationally quit Blind Date live on air after a bust-up with TV bosses. She was furious that younger faces were being approached to take over the 18-year-old show.

Pregnant Davina, 35, will record a pilot show later this week.

Well, it's not top secret any more, is it?

Blind Date was definitely long past its sell-by date . . . . . by the end I felt that most of the contestants were only there for a free holiday and a bit of TV exposure.

Let's hope that this new show, if it definitely goes ahead, has a radically different format. Good luck, Davina.

[AndyJK]

I agree Kaz, how Blind Date has remained on TV for so long is a mystery as it's such an awful programme. I also heard that 'our Graham' confessed that contestants meet each other before the show anyway.

The best and only dating show to watch on TV is Cupid Confidential.