{"id":785086,"date":"2026-09-28T08:20:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T08:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/785086\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T08:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T08:20:17","slug":"we-met-on-blind-date-and-have-been-married-34-years-heres-what-we-think-of-the-shows-love-island-style-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/785086\/","title":{"rendered":"We met on Blind Date and have been married 34 years \u2014 here\u2019s what we think of the show\u2019s Love Island style return"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Alex Tatham was 23 and on the brink of taking his chartered accountancy exams when he got a call saying he\u2019d been selected for the biggest TV show in Britain. <\/p>\n

It was 1988, and \u2013 at its peak \u2013 Cilla Black<\/a>\u2019s Blind Date<\/a> was being watched by 18.2 million people. Still, Alex\u2019s parents were appalled by his urge to flirt in front of the nation for fun. <\/p>\n

That is, until it became clear that 22-year-old Sue<\/a> from the West Midlands, who\u2019d been signed up by a friend without her knowledge, would go on to be the love of his life<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just clicked,\u201d she says today. \u201cHe\u2019s so funny, caring, and vivacious; I find him easy company. We just slotted beautifully into place together.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"'He\u2019s‘He\u2019s so funny’: The couple both went on the show to see what TV was really like (Alex and Sue Tatham)<\/p>\n

Next month, the couple will have been married for 35 years, having wed in front of Cilla, six television crews and 17.5 million pairs of eyes glued to the TV set in 1991. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t get more real than two people getting married, having children, and spending the rest of their lives together,\u201d says Alex of the home they\u2019ve built together and their kids, Charlie, 30, and Emily, 32. <\/p>\n

\u201cReally, it was Britain\u2019s first proper reality TV show,\u201d he adds, of the programme that preceded shows such as Love is Blind<\/a>, First Dates and Love Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To bring the narrative full circle, Blind Date is now set for a \u201ccontemporary\u201d relaunch<\/a> on Disney+<\/a>, with Love Island alumni Maura Higgins<\/a> slated to fill Cilla\u2019s shoes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s an outstanding choice for a host,\u201d says Alex. \u201cBut I wonder if Blind Date translates to today\u2019s language. You\u2019ve got to be quite salacious to fight for airtime. When me and Sue went on, there were only three television channels.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"LoveLove Island star Maura Higgins is set to front Disney’s ‘Blind Date’ reboot (Getty)<\/p>\n

Neither Sue nor Alex originally went on Blind Date with a motivation to find love. Really, they just wanted to be on the hottest TV show of the moment. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be like if someone asked you to go on The Traitors<\/a> now,\u201d says Sue of the intrigue. <\/p>\n

They envisioned filming the programme to be full of sparkle and glamour but the reality of the on-screen reveal was far more rustic. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt all looked so technical on television, but actually it was just some bloke with a bit of cardboard,\u201d says Alex. <\/p>\n

When it was removed, he says, \u201cthat was the very first time we laid eyes on each other\u201d. <\/p>\n

Alex\u2019s immediate feeling upon seeing Sue after selecting her was relief: \u201cShe looked absolutely lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sue was relieved for a different reason: \u201cThat he was taller than me!\u201d she laughs. \u201cI\u2019d borrowed a friend\u2019s flat shoes \u2013 and they were absolutely killing me.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\u2018It\u2019s\u2018It\u2019s been wonderful\u2019: The couple celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary (Alex and Sue Tatham)<\/p>\n

What happened next couldn\u2019t be further from the claustrophobic conditions foisted upon reality dating show contestants today. <\/p>\n

Alex and Sue went on their first date, a medieval banquet in Ireland, the following morning \u2013 and were then placed in hotels five miles apart. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were quite heavily chaperoned by a photographer and a researcher,\u201d says Sue. \u201cWe had such a lovely time that we wanted to go to a nightclub, but they said the date was over.\u201d <\/p>\n

It was only after returning to London \u2013 where Alex decided to spend the day with Sue, so she wouldn\u2019t be alone in the city \u2013 that they were finally alone. \u201cI took her to the zoo,\u201d he says. Then they went out for dinner \u2013 and have carried on having a lovely time for the rest of their lives. <\/p>\n

\"CillaCilla Black at the Tatham’s wedding in Pelsall, Walsall in 1991 (Alex and Sue Tatham)<\/p>\n

\u201cSue and I started off with shared values,\u201d says Alex of their easy compatibility that has lasted almost four decades. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s family, or money, or success or travel, if you share them, then you\u2019re working towards a common goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s the secret to success; and that sort of transcends any arguments \u2013 any ups and downs you might have through your married life \u2013 because you understand what\u2019s important to you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a wonderful, chilled, exciting experience,\u201d Sue concurs. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a wonderful marriage.\u201d <\/p>\n

Blind Date came to a close in 2003, after Cilla Black shocked producers and viewers by announcing her decision to leave the programme live on air. \u201cSurprise surprise,\u201d she yelled to the cameras afterwards. <\/p>\n

It was a decision the presenter said she came to after consulting with her husband, Bobby Willis, who\u2019d died of cancer two years earlier, via a psychic medium. <\/p>\n

\"CillaCilla shocked producers by announcing her decision to leave Blind Date live on air in 2003 (ITV)<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked into her room and before I had even sat down she said, \u2018You are frightened and excited. Bobby says that is okay \u2013 you are doing the right thing\u2019,\u201d the presenter told reporters at the time. \u201cI hadn\u2019t given her any idea of why I wanted to see her.\u201d <\/p>\n

Over the course of 18 years, Black had welcomed hundreds of single people onto the show in the hope of finding them love. The programme\u2019s only mild controversy came when a journalist, Nicola Gill, snuck onto the show undercover, posing as a secretary, to write a story for Cosmopolitan magazine. <\/p>\n

Cilla\u2019s disappointed cries of \u201cshe\u2019s a journalist, ladies and gentlemen!\u201d are still memed on TikTok and Twitter to thousands of likes today \u2013 almost 30 years on from the episode. <\/p>\n

Nicole (politely) declined to speak for this piece, as she now does for all Blind Date requests, as the delight and intrigue over her on screen rumbling continues to rumble forever on. <\/p>\n

\"\u2018She\u2019s\u2018She\u2019s a journalist!\u2019 Nicola Gill undercover on \u2018Blind Date\u2019 (ITV\/YouTube)<\/p>\n

Disney\u2019s Blind Date relaunch, which follows in the footsteps of Paul O\u2019Grady\u2019s 2017 takeover, will see the show \u201creimagined\u201d: \u201cbigger, better, and bolder than ever\u201d. <\/p>\n

While delight in the original show persists, reception to the reboot has been mixed, with some declaring the series \u201canother show no one wanted\u201d. Others remain cautiously curious. <\/p>\n

But whatever happens when the show hits small screens once more in 2027, fronted by Higgins fresh off the back of Dancing with the Stars success, Blind Date has two fans for life. <\/p>\n

\u201cI may be a bit sceptical, but we\u2019ll definitely be watching,\u201d says Alex. \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting and we do wish it the very, very best of luck.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[71525,184846,776,186211,6494,10189,96,225474,11237,8701,6487,225475,391,56,54,55,659],"class_list":["post-785086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-arts-culture-and-entertainment","tag-attending","tag-california","tag-city-of-los-angeles","tag-color-image","tag-dancing-with-the-stars","tag-entertainment","tag-front-row","tag-horizontal","tag-maura-higgins","tag-photography","tag-sirius-xm-radio","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}