E4 hooks up with Celebs Go Virtual Dating
David Farnor | On 27, Jul 2020
E4 is hooking up virtually with celebrities for new reality series Celebs Go Virtual Dating.
The series will put the dating skills of four celebrities to the test in a spin-off to E4’s flagship reality show, Celebs Go Dating. It promises to bring all the dating drama of its sister show, but with the added challenges of video vetting love matches and trying to find that spark on a socially distanced date.
Since the beginning of lockdown in March, the UK’s pool of singles have been spending an average of seven hours a week “virtually dating”. With an even greater need for human interaction during this time, will the Celebs Go Dating agents successfully find four famous faces somebody they could see themselves isolating with?
Paul C Brunson and Anna Williamson will return to the celebrity dating agency, ably assisted by junior Client Coordinator and celeb confidante, Tom Read Wilson. The trio will guide the celebs through the unchartered and potentially choppy waters of online love and distanced dating. Rob Beckett will also be back on voiceover duties.
As for the celebrities, the series will follow Geordie Shore lass Chloe Ferry, professional rugby player and The X Factor: Celebrity star Levi Davis, TOWIE heart-throb Pete Wicks and Love Island favourite Shaughna Phillips. They will be set up on a series of dates, either remotely from home, or outdoors adhering to social distancing guidelines.
Pete Wicks says: “I’m excited to be heading back to the agency. Anna, Paul and Tom give great advice, and I’m looking forward to getting a slightly different Celebs Go Dating experience this time around. Lockdown has really made me realise that I am ready to have someone to share my time with, instead of just my dogs! Hopefully this time I can leave the agency with a girl on my arm, not another Sam Thompson!”
Anna Williamson said: “I’m so excited to get the agency back up and running. We are really intrigued to see what dating looks like during this time.”
The series arrives as Netflix and Amazon both make concerted pushes into the competitive unscripted arena, with Netflix dating series Too Hot to Handle and Love Is Blind and Amazon’s fashion show Making the Cut.
It airs weekly at 10pm on Mondays, starting Monday 27th July.