{"id":581076,"date":"2026-08-26T17:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/581076\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T17:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T17:06:11","slug":"iconic-british-dating-show-blind-date-reveals-new-host-for-bigger-better-and-bolder-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/581076\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic British dating show Blind Date reveals new host for \u201cbigger, better, and bolder\u201d revival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blind Date, the beloved British dating show that originally ran on ITV from 1985 to 2003 and on 5 from 2017 to 2019, is getting another reboot \u2014 this time on Disney+<\/a>. The brand-new host has just been announced too, and it’s someone who isn’t a stranger to TV dating shows. <\/p>\n

Maura Higgins, who first found fame on Love Island before going on to present Aftersun for the US version of the franchise, will present this latest revival.<\/p>\n

Described as “reimagined for contemporary audiences \u2013 bigger, better, and bolder than ever”, the new Blind Date will film later this year.<\/p>\n

\"maura<\/p>\n

Disney+<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 \u2013 including Disney+, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV<\/a><\/p>\n

The main premise of the show will remain the same. A dater will chat to three potential suitors but won’t be able to see them, before picking one to go on a date with to see if love blossoms. <\/p>\n

However, this new version also promises “a host of innovative format twists”, as well as “a spicy dose of drama”.<\/p>\n

Angela Jain, the head of content for Disney+ EMEA, said: “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. <\/p>\n

“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.”
<\/p>\n

\"maura<\/p>\n

Robin L Marshall\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Related: Maura Higgins reveals shorter hair transformation<\/a><\/p>\n

Maura is pretty busy at the moment, because she’ll also be seen on screen later this year<\/a> as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, the American equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing.<\/p>\n

“I’m just going to try my best. I’m just going to bring my own flavour to it and bring my personality and my charisma and try my best because I have two left feet honestly,\u201d Maura told People<\/a> of hitting the dancefloor.<\/p>\n

Blind Date will steam on Disney+<\/a> in 2027.<\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Ariana Grande, is here! Buy Ariana Grande in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV<\/a> and movies<\/a> both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I’m a Fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blind Date, the beloved British dating show that originally ran on ITV from 1985 to 2003 and on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[286250,147144,148829,2115,286251,2117,156,2120,207184,2116,111,139,69,286249,251090,148828,437],"class_list":["post-581076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-better-revival","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-collection-love-island","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-3be5e684-3fe7-4bba-a358-08525341c505","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-blind-date-reveals-new-host-for-bigger","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-reality-tv","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}