Blind Date Is Coming To Disney+ With Maura Higgins As Its New Host

Following on from the success of the recent Gladiators reboot, another staple of Saturday night telly is due to hit our screens.

After months of rumours, Disney+ announced on Tuesday afternoon that Blind Date is being revamped for a new generation on the streaming platform.

The long-running dating show previously saw Cilla Black interviewing helping singletons find love, with the revival’s host already knowing a thing or two about dating shows.

Yes, this time around it’ll be Love Island favourite Maura Higgins at the helm of Blind Date, with Disney+ teasing “a host of innovative format twists and a spicy dose of drama, as our daters will see if forever love can truly grow once the new series begins filming in a secret Blind Date location later this year”.

“Potential new partners are always lurking behind the wall,” they added in an official press release.

Maura shot to fame as a contestant on the fifth season of Love Island back in 2015, making it all the way to the final with then-boyfriend Curtis Pritchard.

In the years since, the Irish presenter has appeared on reality shows including Dancing On Ice, I’m A Celebrity and the US edition of The Traitors, and was recently unveiled as a contestant on the next season of America’s Strictly equivalent, Dancing With The Stars.

She has also carved a new career for herself as a TV personality, fronting shows like Glow Up Ireland and Love Island Aftersun across the pond.

Blind Date originally ran for 18 years between 1985 and 2003, until its former host Cilla Black announced live on air that she was quitting.

It was previously rebooted by Channel 5 around a decade ago, with Paul O’Grady as its new host.

A spokesperson enthused: “Maura is the perfect match for our version of Blind Date. Her distinctive straight-talking humour, coupled with her experience as a reality dating show contestant, means we know she has the gravitas plus the wit to bring Blind Date to new audiences.

“We’re very much looking forward to Maura helping our daters navigate their own journeys to find love as she steps into the famed Blind Date host role.”

More details about the new season will be announced “in due course”.