Take Me Out is reportedly set to make a comeback, six years after ITV axed the Saturday night dating show in 2020, with production company Fremantle said to be in talks with streamers including Netflix.
The show, which saw a group of single women known as the 'flirty 30' vie for the affections of one man, ran for 11 seasons. If the women were not interested, they would switch off their lights, leaving him to choose from the remaining ladies, unless none were interested, in which case he went home dateless. As former host Paddy McGuinness put it, 'No lighty, no likey.'
New host candidates and tone
A source told The Sun that executives want to 'ensure it has the same cheeky tone' as the original show, adding: 'That's what set it apart from more serious dating formats which rely on beef and drama — and made it such a fun watch.'
Several names are reportedly being considered for the hosting job, including Olivia Attwood, Emily Atack and model Leomie Anderson. The source added: 'Emily and Olivia's quick wit and timing make them favourites and Maya Jama was also considered perfect, but her links to Love Island make that tricky. Plans are in development now and talks are underway with streamers including Netflix but the landscape of TV is ever-changing, so the reboot could take a number of forms.'
McGuinness on the show's legacy
When the show was taken off the air nearly seven years ago, a spokesperson told Metro: 'We're really sad to see the end of Take Me Out but after 11 years, eight weddings and six babies, for now, our work here is done. Over the years, Paddy has been the dream host and everyone involved from the hard-working crew through to the contestants have been fantastic.'
McGuinness joked he would need to 'get to the job centre', saying in a statement on Instagram: 'What I am most proud of is the success of Take Me Out put dating shows back on the TV map. Thank you to the boys who braved the love lift and most importantly to the stars of the show, the girls. I'm going to miss spending my Saturday nights with you.'
McGuinness on a possible reboot
The former host previously said he did not think Take Me Out could be made today. Speaking on the Table Manners podcast in 2025, McGuinness said that young people still approach him to ask about the show. He added: 'I think the way things are in the world now, in media, we live in a very strange time where if you're saying something jokey or something not serious or whatever, it gets taken out of context, put online, and there's a spin on everything. And I think Take Me Out, because it was so pure, lovely, fun and on a Saturday night, and we had a laugh – that was of its time. I think if you did it now, I hope I'm wrong, but I think if you did it now, there'd be that many bloody things going, oh, you can't do that. You can't say this and take things out of context and what have you. Because essentially, it's a family Saturday night entertainment show.'
Speaking on the TWS Sports Podcast in 2022, the former Top Gear host said: 'If you look at programmes like Love Island now, where everyone is absolutely drop dead gorgeous, all the guys are full of muscles and they've got dead white teeth, and all the girls have got long hair and gorgeous bodies. Take Me Out was more about everybody. There was all different shapes and sizes on Take Me Out; that's what I loved about it, it wasn't like everybody was perfect.'
Metro contacted Fremantle, Netflix, Olivia Attwood and Emily Atack for comment on this story.
