IN NUMBERS: First Dates

As more singletons head to Italy in search of love at the First Dates Hotel (10pm, Ch4), we take a look at some numbers relating to its parent show, set in a London restaurant…

2013 The year First Dates was launched on Channel 4, on June 20.

42 The number of cameras the restaurant is fitted with. There are at least 70 crew members on set during filming, which can last up to 15 hours a day.

£25 The amount of money each diner is given towards the cost of their meal. How they pay for the rest is up to each couple.

45 The age of French maitre d’ Fred Sirieix (above, with his waiting staff), who turns 46 next week. When not filming First Dates, the father-of-two works as the general manager at Galvin at Windows, a Michelin-starred restaurant at the London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane.

1 The number on the door of the real restaurant where the show is filmed. Meals at the Paternoster Chop House at 1 Warwick Court, near St Paul’s Cathedral, include a Saturday brunch and a Sunday lunch.

2017 The year the first First Dates baby was born. Aarron Stewart met Ibiba Mudada on the show on June 10, 2016, and Ibiba gave birth to the couple’s first child, baby daughter Aziza, last April.

250 The number of words you have to describe yourself on the application form. If you’re single and looking for love, head to www.firstdatescasting.co.uk to apply for the next series – and potentially meet your match.