First Dates, one of British television history's most successful dating shows for actually finding romance, has been a popular fixture on our screens since it initially aired back in 2013.
As it's the job of the staff working in the nationally-famous restaurant and bar to make matches you would imagine that their own love lives off-camera couldn't be anything short of a doddle.
And by the looks of things the majority of the staff are very much loved up with their significant others with some even having little ones along the way.
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Here’s everything we know about the real-life loves (and real-life jobs) of the staff of Channel 4's First Dates.
Fred Sirieix
The First Dates frontman himself, Fred Sirieix is the restaurant's charming maître d'hotel and the first friendly face that unlucky-in-love daters are greeted by upon their arrival.
The finesse-filled Frenchman trained for front of housework at a Michelin-starred restaurant in France before moving to London, where he quickly became the general manager of high-end eatery Galvin at Windows on the 28th floor of the London Hilton.
A producer for the show, Molly Sayers, has claimed in the past that her team put notable effort into recruiting the father-of-two for his position at the exclusive love nest. She said: "He gave me the runaround and I had to work quite hard to get him interested in the premise."
As well as First Dates, Sirieix has since appeared as a presenter of other food-based television series' such as both Million Pound Menu and Remarkable Place to Eat, however he's know most widely recognised for travelling the globe with chef pals Gordon Ramsay and Gino D'Acampo, getting up to mayhem whilst cooking and eating bountiful delicacies on their various road trips.
The 49-year-old TV star was involved in a previous long-term relationship with his Italian ex-partner Alex with whom he shares two children – a daughter, Andrea Spenolini-Sirieix, and a son, Lucien. He is now engaged to his mystery Jamaican-born fiancée whom he often refers to as 'Fruitcake' when he mentioning her on social media.
Merlin Griffiths
As well as being recognised for creating beautiful beverages and putting the nervous newbies at ease before their dates 46-year-old mixologist Merlin Griffiths has lived a rather interesting life off-camera.
The fully-qualified bar boss began shaking and stirring cocktails in London's Soho at infamous dive bar The Doghouse before moving to some of the city's most high-profile establishments. He has also worked in Bangalore as a specialist bartender for the five-star Indian hotel chain Taj Hotels. Whilst here Bacardi Global Brands then headhunted him to be their global ambassador, as did Bombay Sapphire Gin and Oxley Gin.
He has been with his wife Lucile (whom he met at a cocktail-making competition) for over a decade. The two share one child, a now seven-year-old daughter Alix, and in 2010, they jointly took over a London pub, The Priory Tavern, which they now run.
In August last year Merlin was diagnosed with bowel cancer with the doctors telling him he has a 75% chance of living beyond five years. "I think it's just important to raise awareness," he opened up to The Mirror last year. "Especially with certain cancers which can sometimes feel slightly more embarrassing than others. If your instincts are telling you you've got a problem or you think there's a problem that needs checking don't hesitate. One in two of us will possibly get cancer within our lifetime."
Cici Coleman
One of the original members of staff who has featured on the show since day one is bubbly waitress Cici Coleman, a multi-talented actress from Oxfordshire who was scouted for the Channel 4 show during its production stage.
You may be surprised to know that this New York Film Academy graduate has a number of film credits under her belt having appeared in short films such as Beautiful Girls and Sleep as well as Essex Vendetta, which she starred in alongside Danniella Westbrook. She also has an impressive amount of experience on stage having performed in three off-Broadway plays at The Players Club in New York.
Show producer Molly explained that the much-loved television waitress was found working in hospitality by their team of researchers, who went out into "trendy bars that were likely to have cool people in them".
Despite claiming in a 2018 interview that she had been single for "too long" and used Instagram as a dating app she recently revealed she is now happily in a relationship. In an interview with Towie star Pete Wicks last year she joked: "I’ve dated absolute a***holes and then there’s been some lovely ones but I have learned lessons from each one of them."
Speaking of her new boo she added: "I don’t mean he’s perfect, because nobody is perfect, but what he’s shown me so far is incredible foundations for something beautiful in the future."
Only true First Dates fans will remember, however, the flirty friendship and 'will-they-won't-they' relationship that Cici had with fellow on-screen waiter...
Sam Conrad
London-born head waiter Sam Conrad was known for being one of the four members of staff that helped run the restaurants on First Dates during its early days. The cheeky chap often helped in calming down the singletons' nerves in their venture to find 'the one'.
Despite his and Cici's flirtatious rapport, which often kept viewers on the edges of their seats, it was not meant to be. He gained a reputation for relationships with diners as he joined one singleton, Sasha, outside for a drink when she got stood up and discovered they had a lot in common. However she later updated viewersL "We went on two dates but there was no spark. He is a nice guy but the chemistry wasn't there."
Sam stopped appearing on the dating show in 2020 but failed to feature on the brand new 2021 series in January last year. It is not known why he is no longer on the show as the popular waiter has kept quiet on his reasons.
Austin Ventour
The actor, who has worked as an extra in numerous shows in the past, is also a part-time model as well as an accomplished hip-hop dancer, which he has often hinted at during filming, popping and locking between running drinks to daters. He has previous experience in the hospitality industry, having also dabbled in bartending, however he reportedly wants to focus on his acting career.
Austin announced last year that he and his make-up artist girlfriend Katie Moore, whom he regularly shares adorable Instagram snaps with, are expecting their first baby after having been together for more than five years.
Their daughter, Olive, was born on May 14 last year. In a post of his newborn he wrote: "On the 14th of May my life changed forever. My baby daughter was born, the love of my life gave birth to the newest love of my life. Olive Elexia Ventour welcome to the planet. Words can never describe the feeling you get when you stare at your child. I can’t believe I’m a father."
Laura Trott
Like Sam and Cici, waitress Laura Tott has been helping singletons meet their match on the Channel 4 dating show since the very start, landing the gig through a friend who worked in TV. She had previously worked in numerous bars and restaurants all over the world but during her on-screen stint she kept a secret about her life off-camera.
Whilst working on First Dates Laura had also been training to be a paramedic, finally qualifying in 2020. After securing herself the job on the dating show she shared her time between training to be a paramedic in the Midlands during the week and filming in London at weekends. Throughout the duration of the pandemic she had been working on the NHS frontline before actually testing positive for coronavirus herself, having to let her fans on social media know the reason she had been out of action for a while.
In a heartfelt Instagram post in January last year the TV star explained that, like Sam, she would not be coming back for the new 2021 series having been replaced by "new faces".
She added at the time: "To be honest, I don't actually know how I would have fit filming in this year with working during the pandemic. I've needed every day off to chill out so it's actually been a welcomed break. I've missed the whole team though, that's for sure."
Laura also became engaged to her "hunky boyfriend" last year, posting a picture of the ring on Instagram with the caption: “Well I better get planning that hen do. Always keep my relationship off social media and I love that it’s just for me, but wanted to share this with you all cos I’m absolutely over the moon. Hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine."
First Dates airs at 9pm on Channel 4 on Thursdays.
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