''Playdate'' is a British television

dating Dating is a stage of Romance (love), romantic relationships in which individuals engage in activity together, often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the cate ...

programme that was made by Hamma & Glamma Productions for ITV. It was screened Monday to Fridays on

ITV Play ITV Play was a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was devoted exclusively to phone-in quiz show programmes, expanding upon ITV1 and ITV2's late-night quiz programmes such as ...

between 8.00pm and 10.00pm, and daily on

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

between 1.00am and 4.00am. Billed as "the UK’s first interactive TV dating show", the show's format is based around

speed dating Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process with the purpose of encouraging eligible singles to meet new potential partners in a very short period of time, so that interested pairs can continue meeting each other after the event. Organiz ...

. The show had one format: 7 days a week, the show was interactive: various singletons of both sexes were invited into the studio, and members of the public were invited to

phone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

in and talk with the studio guests, known as "datees". Viewers were also invited to send

text message Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktop computer, des ...

s and picture messages to the "datees". The show's presenters were

Brendan Courtney Brendan Courtney (born 24 June 1971) is an Irish TV presenter and fashion designer. He was the first openly gay presenter in Ireland. He has hosted ''Wanderlust'' on RTÉ Two, ''The Brendan Courtney Show'' on TV3. Career Courtney began his car ...

, Dave O'Reilly, Giles Vickers Jones, Kat Shoob, Katy Pullinger,

Zoe Hardman Zoe Kristina Hardman (born 16 November 1982) is a British radio and television presenter. She first appeared on TV in Channel 4's reality game show ''Playing It Straight'' in 2005. Career Hardman was born in Kent, England. She was a presenter ...

and former '' Big Brother'' winner

Kate Lawler Kate Louise Lawler (born 7 May 1980) is an English television personality, presenter, model and DJ. She became the first female winner of ''Big Brother UK'' after winning the third series of the reality series in 2002. Since ''Big Brother'', s ...

. Cast members included DJ Anthony Ghosh (aka DJ Talent) who since then made the semi-final of ITV Britains Got Talent, and Reality TV personality & comedic Actress

Charley Clark Charley may refer to: Places *Charley, Leicestershire, a parish in England *Charley's Flat, alternate name for Dutch Flat, California *Charley's Motel, former name of Star Lite Motel, Minnesota, United States * Charley Ridge, West Virginia, Unite ...

who has since appeared on various TV shows such as ITV The only way is Essex, E4 Carjackers, Channel 4 The Lie Detective. ''Playdate'' was axed with its final show being aired on 17 December. '' The Mint'' was shown in its slot on

and ''The Mint Extra'' shown in its slot on ITV Play. The Mint ceased broadcasting in 2007.

External links

*{{itv.com, id=play, title=ITV Play 2000s British game shows 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings 2000s British reality television series British dating and relationship reality television series ITV reality television shows British English-language television shows