Davina McCall to host new ‘groundbreaking’ ITV dating series 'for grown-ups'

Virgin Radio

16 Mar 2023, 13:47

TV legend Davina McCall will be front-and-centre of a new dating series on ITV. 

The Big Brother host will be at the helm of The Romance Retreat, which the broadcaster promises to “open the nation’s hearts to a whole new world of grown-up love.”

The Romance Retreat will follow nominated single parents found from all over the UK and from different walks of life, as they embark on the hunt to find true love while living together in a stunning country house. 

The casting for the new series is open now (check out the application process here) and ITV are after “vibrant single parents and their grown-up children” in what’s being billed as a “dating show for grown-ups.”

Davina took to Instagram to share the announcement, and in her signature excited way, she announced: “I made it happen. I willed there to be an amazing new dating programme for grown-ups. People who have lived a life, people who have experiences, bad, moving, hard. They’ve had tough lives, they’ve got luggage, but they deserve love."

If it all sounds a little bit familiar, that’s because earlier this year, ITV were said to be scouting for a “middle-aged Love Island” following the massive success of the format. While people flocked to the current series, there have been a lot of calls from viewers to introduce a more realistic and relatable version. 

Davina was one of those people, and recently shared on the Diary of a CEO podcast that she reached out to the telly bosses, "begging" them to let her host a version of the show with older contestants.

She said: "I could fill a villa in Love Island with middle-aged people with the best backstories you have ever heard in your life.

"They've lived a life – they're widows, they're people who have been through horrific divorces. They are people who have split up with somebody and decided they want to try going out with somebody the same sex as them.

"They're like interesting people. I'd watch that show."

The Masked Singer host added: "I was like, 'I need to present it please'. They said, ''We're looking at something else that's quite similar, we might consider you for that''.

"Well if I hadn't sent them that email in the first place, they wouldn't have thought about me for the other show maybe.

She encouraged others: "You've got to make opportunities happen – they never just come to you. Keep walking."

The Romance Retreat will launch on ITV1 and ITVX later this year.