ITV has ordered two further series’ of ever-popular dating show Take Me Out hosted by Paddy McGuinness and ITV2 hit follow-up show Take Me Out: The Gossip hosted by Zoe Hardman and Mark Wright. Both shows will return to primetime Saturday night schedules later this year.
Since its first series outing in 2010, Take Me Out has established itself as a staple part of Saturday evening schedules. The series features 30 single women from across the UK seeking the right single guy to ‘take them out’. Paddy McGuinness is the irrepressible host who helps make a dating match, and has coined the well-known catchphrase ‘no likey, no lighty’. Take Me Out: The Gossip burst onto ITV2 screens for the first time in January 2012 and has become the channel’s third highest rated show (behind Celebrity Juice and The Only Way is Essex) so far this year.
Suzy Lamb, Thames Head of Entertainment said:
“We’re delighted to be returning and proud that ITV see the series as a key part of their primetime schedules. To date, Take Me Out has produced three engagements, with possibly more to come – almost a better hit rate than most online dating websites!”
Host Paddy McGuinness commented:
“I'm looking forward to warming up those winter nights with some hot dates!”
Take Me Out was commissioned by ITV’s Director of Entertainment and Comedy, Elaine Bedell and Controller of Entertainment, ITV, John Kaye Cooper and Take Me Out: The Gossip was commissioned ITV2 Director of Digital Channels and Acquisition Angela Jain and Commissioner, Entertainment Kate Maddigan.
Controller of Entertainment, ITV, John Kaye Cooper said:
“TMO has become a firm favourite in the schedule and we're delighted to commission a further two series.”
Take Me Out and Take Me Out: The Gossip are Thames productions for ITV1 and ITV2 respectively. Contestants seeking to apply for the new series of Take Me Out should go to:
www.itv.com/takemeout.
Take Me Out is Executive Produced by Thames Head of Entertainment, Suzy Lamb and Mel Balac. Take Me Out: The Gossip is Executive Produced by Suzy Lamb.
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Notes to Editors
Take Me Out is a FremantleMedia France idea, developed for the UK by Sarah Edwards, Andy Brereton and Gail Harman in the talkbackTHAMES Entertainment Development team. The format was commissioned in Australia and is now also in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Indonesia, and Finland.
Take Me Out: The Gossip follows the huge success of online series ‘The Gossip’, by talkbackTHAMES which aired on www.itv.com/takemeout for series two (2011).
FremantleMedia UK, is the UK production arm of FremantleMedia, the global production and content business of the RTL Group, Europe’s largest television and radio company. FremantleMedia UK, comprises of a group of labels, Talkback, Retort, Boundless, Thames and Newman Street, which produce some of the UK’s most successful shows. The labels are headed up by some of the UK’s leading creative talent including Richard Holloway (Thames), Dan Baldwin (Talkback), Patrick Holland (Boundless), Jon Rolph (Retort) and Paul Marquess (Newman Street). Across the group the labels provide award winning programming for all major terrestrial, digital channels and digital outlets. With an unparalleled range of programming including: The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Celebrity Juice, Take Me Out, Over The Rainbow, The Apprentice, You’re Fired, Can’t Take It With You, Four Rooms, Grand Designs, Great British Railway Journeys, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, The IT Crowd, QI, The Rob Brydon Show, The Sinking of the Laconia, Kidnap and Ransom and Holy Flying Circus - the Group has aired over 450 hours of programming on terrestrial TV in the past 12 months alone.
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