5 MINUTES WITH...

Paddy Mcguinness, 43, currently playing matchmaker on series nine of ITV’S hit dating show Take Me Out…

hat should the W chaps on Take Me Out not do if they’re after a date with the girls? Chat up lines don’t go down well with the girls. The goodlooking lads may do well in the first round, but if they haven’t got good personalities the girls will turn their lights off. That’s the beauty of having 30 girls – because they’ll say: “I don’t like what he says.” Whereas if you had 30 lads, it wouldn’t matter what she said, they’d just leave their lights on! Us men are simple creatures… Has dating changed since Take Me Out first aired? It seems to be more of a business now – everywhere you look there’s a dating app or a dating website. One thing I’m proud of with Take Me Out is not only the success it’s had around the world, but also that we’ve put dating shows back into people’s consciousness. Why is Take Me Out so popular? It reminds me of shows I used to watch as a kid, like The Generation Game that you could watch with your parents. Take Me Out has that same sensibility – students will watch it, your aunties and uncles, nans, grandads, mums, dads and kids. It goes right across the board and I think that’s why it does so well. Have you enjoyed this series? This series we’ve had a really nice mix of girls who are very forthright. If one gives good answers I sometimes think: “I’ll be gutted when she gets a date!” But when they do, you become like a father figure and make sure she’ll be treated well. And what’s amazing with this show is we’ve had seven engagements, five weddings (soon to be six) and three kids. It’s unbelievable.