Label volunteer, Georgea Evans, brings you a strangely relatable discussion Celebs Go Dating.
Ahead of Celebs Go Dating returning to our tellies in 2019, we thought it’d be great idea to reminisce over last season’s action and contemplate whether next season is really worth a watch. So around 7 weeks ago, our tellies were bombarded by 9 single celebrities: Amy Tapper, Callum Izzard, Olivia Atwood, Eyal Booker, Mutya Buena, Sam Craske, Alik Alfus, Chloe Sims, and Vas J Morgan, all of whom were looking for luuuuve. For those of you who don’t know, the TV show is based on the idea that these hot celebs are better off finding love out in the real-world. Working with dating experts: Nadia Essex and Paul Brunson to find the cream to their cracker, these celeb singletons date people like you and me for a total of 5 weeks until choosing one lucky person to accompany them at the finale party in Greece eeeek!
Realistically, watching celebs go on multiple dates doesn’t exactly scream great TV to me but I must admit that the cringe conversations and awkward exchanges make it worthwhile. From the first episode, we are given a glimpse of what the series is about when Sugababe, Mutya Buena, gets rejected. The scene involves excruciating edits that make the awkward moment last a lifetime and with the other celebrities gasping in the corner, you’re left hiding behind your pillow waiting for it all to be over. This made me realise that behind Rob Beckett’s hilarious voiceover, the show highlights the cruel reality of the dating world but equally supplies advice on how to handle it. In the moment, Mutya bravely points out that there’s nothing to be gained in “wasting time with anyone who isn’t interested”.
But most shockingly you’ll learn that these celebrities are no different to us when it comes to dating, in fact, they appear just as scared and nervous. The show is destroying the stigma that celebs live an easier life than us, sure they’re not breaking into their overdraft just to treat their date to a fancy restaurant, but emotionally, they struggle just as bad with body image and confidence when it comes to meeting a complete stranger. For celebrities like Amy Tapper, who shared her first ever date on the show, she revealed in an interview with This Morning, that through dating “you learn that people could actually accept you” and admitted that the show helped her to grow up.
In conclusion, I think this show features more than just celebs trying to get their names out there as they go on a couple dates. Instead, it’s a show that explores the wonders of dating and how it can boost your self-image. We laugh and mock at the awkwardness of the dates because we can relate to them, and at times it’s fun to watch the celebrities squirm. In fact, our dating lives are probably far much easier. At least, if our date goes terribly wrong, we can go home, have a glass of wine and never think about it again and not have the whole nation talking about it. In my opinion, this TV show is a definite worthwhile watch for both men and women, it’s empowering on both sides and teaches us how to date in the 21st century. If you want to up your dating game or enjoy the cringe dates for a bit of a laugh, then visit channel4.com to watch it on catch up.
Featured image by: Omeiza Haruna
