Senior Producer / Director

Channel 4 | Series 2 - 6 | 2017 - 2020

Take the core mechanics of First Dates - expertly matched strangers meeting blind over dinner - and move it to a sun-drenched Italian hotel where anticipation builds for days before the first sip of prosecco. Add poolside speculation, pre-date bedroom rituals, and the possibility of a second date the next morning if sparks fly.

After the pilot’s French idyll, I joined for the move to Italy in series 2 - Amalfi-adjacent sunshine, lemons everywhere - and returned as Senior PD for series 3–6, overseeing a team of five Producer/Directors and maintaining editorial consistency across the run.

The engine of the show is casting. Closer to a bespoke dating agency than a reality format, matching people with a genuine intention of compatibility. The hotel twist allowed us to expand beyond the restaurant: capturing nervous anticipation in bedrooms, alliances and gossip by the pool, and whispered speculation about who might be “the one.” Nine times out of ten, we kept potential matches carefully separated pre-date to preserve that all-important reveal. If both parties said yes, they didn’t just exchange numbers, they earned a second date, often off-rig and cinematic.

Technically, it was one of Channel 4’s larger fixed-rig operations at the time, covering lounges, terraces, restaurant spaces, and bedrooms. Despite what viewers often assume, there were no producers prompting emotional confessions mid-starter. Our approach was deliberately light-touch. Extensive documentary-style interviews beforehand meant daters were emotionally prepared and self-aware, so when deeper backstories emerged across the table, it was organic.

In the gallery, the challenge was orchestration. Limited recordable streams, multiple simultaneous storylines, and essential beats required a genuine hive mind among PDs. Constant liaison ensured each dater’s arc was protected while serving the collective narrative. The job was equal parts logistics and empathy: preserve the bubble, steady the nerves, and capture the moments that felt truthful - whether that was insight, heartbreak, or genuine connection.

Crucially, the matches actually worked! We saw multiple long-term relationships, including two proposals in a single series. One standout: Vanessa, who arrived grieving the loss of her beloved cat, and returned a year later to be proposed to by Julien under the bougainvillea. From heartbreak to engagement, in the same hotel courtyard.