Take Me Out (UK game show)

Format

The objective of the show is for a single man to obtain a date with one of thirty single women. The women stand on stage underneath thirty white lights, each with a button in front of them. A single man is then brought down on stage via the 'Love Lift' and tries to persuade the women to agree to this date in a series of rounds, playing a pre-recorded video discussing his background, displaying a skill (such as dancing or playing a musical instrument), or playing another video in which the man's friends or family reveal more about his virtues and philosophy.

At any point during the rounds, the women can press the button in front of them to turn off their light if they do not believe a date with this man would be constructive to their well-being and if this occurs, their area of the stage will turn red. If, at the end of three rounds, there are still lights left on, the bachelor will turn off all but two of the remaining lights himself. He will then have a chance to ask one question to the last two women, before choosing which woman he wants to go on the date with by turning off one more light. If the man is left with two lights at the end of round 3, he will just ask his question to the two remaining women and if there is only one light left at the end of round 3, he will go on the date with that girl without asking her his question. There are usually four men brought on in the course of a single episode, though on some occasions segments have been cut and only three men have been shown.

If all the women turn off their lights before the end of the third round - this is referred to as a "blackout" - then the man must leave the show without going on a date, accompanied by the Céline Dion version of the hit Eric Carmen song "All by Myself". In the first series, the successful couples conducted their date at FERNANDO'S! in Manchester, which is actually Club Bijou on Chapel Street, the outcome of which is shown as part of the following week's show. For the second series, the date took place abroad on the Isle of FERNANDO'S!, a fictional location (and one with a grammatically improper name, given that Saxon genitive with apostrophe + s means the same as "of") based in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife. Previously the date took place in Cyprus. Successful couples leave the programme upstairs on the opposite side of the studio to the 'Love Lift', and a song, usually from the latin pop genre, will be played.

Comedic value is mostly provided by McGuinness's array of catchphrases such as "Let the (object) see the (object)", "No likey, no lighty!", "If you're turned off, turn off", "If he's not Mr Right, turn off your light", "Get out there, turn one girl off and take one girl out!", "Come and get some Paddy love!", "The isle of...FERNANDO'S!".

Round 1

In this round the man comes down the love lift. He meets the girls and then says his name and where he is from. Paddy repeats but afterwards with one of catchphrases. Then the girls can turn off their light. From series 7 onwards, they have to write down a 'love at first light' from the girls who had left their lights on.

Round 2

This includes a pre-recorded video presented by the man. It sometimes includes interviews with his friends and family. It describes his personality and what they do. At any point the girls can turn off their light.

Round 3

In this round the man shows a skill in the studio. Alternately their friend or family can say a secret. At any point the girl can turn off their light.

Round 4

In this round the men turns off all the lights except 2 decided by himself. At the start of the round Paddy says " The power is in your hands " and pulls his hand down. Not every man does this round and some skip straight to round 5.

Round 5

In this round the man asks the girls who are remaining a question. If 2 or 1 girl/s was left from round 3 then the man can choose a mysterious girl to take on a date. This is decided by the sound of her voice. The man then turns off the light of one girl. Then they meet, go up the big stairs opposite the love lift and have a backstage interview.

Take Me Out: The Gossip

Take Me Out: The Gossip is a behind-the-scenes sister show that began airing weekly on ITV2 from series 3-5 and 7 onwards, following the broadcast of the main programme. It is currently presented by Laura Jackson and Mark Wright. Zoe Hardman previously hosted the show with Wright. A similar format, previously broadcast online, featuring backstage gossip and interviews with the contestants, was regularly made available on itv.com juust hours after the broadcast of the main programme.

Episodes and ratings

Episode viewing figures from BARB.

Series 1 (2010)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Notes

^Note 1 : The date segment of contestant Wen scoring a date with freelance journalist Aaron was axed from the programme after it transpired that Aaron had a criminal conviction for punching a woman, had worked as a male escort, and also had a long-term girlfriend; and that Wen was in fact a prostitute for a short period.

^Note 2 : Two blackouts occurred in one programme, becoming the first time this had ever occurred on the show.

^Note 3 : The studio segment of contestant Judi scoring a date with builder Mike was axed from the programme, after it transpired that Mike was known to the police as a suspected sex offender. Judi did not return to the show.

^Note 4 : The studio segment of contestant Jade scoring a date with banker Rory was axed from the programme, after it transpired that Rory was serving a suspended sentence for common assault. Jade did not return to the show.

^Note 5 : The studio segment of contestant Hannah scoring a date with musician & semi-professional footballer Jarvis was axed from the programme, after it transpired that Jarvis had served a 12-month community order for assaulting a man in 2009. There was also an allegation that Jarvis had approached an under-age girl for sex (unconfirmed). Hannah did not return to the show.

^Note 6 : Chelsea revealed on the 7 April episode of Take Me Out: The Gossip that she and Ben, the first contestant of the series, were getting married.

^Note 7 : David set a record for having the highest number of girls left in the final round in the third series, with 27 leaving their light on after round three. Amy Childs also later went on to date David.

Series 4 (2012)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Notes

^Note 8 : Ben was the only contestant this series to receive a blackout on the second round (as opposed to the third and final round).

^Note 9 : Will and Henry became the first pair of twins to come down the love lift, and go on a double date with their chosen dates.

^Note 10 : In the final round, Yinka let his little brother, Jono, choose which of the two girls he should pick out of all of the remaining lights.

^Note 11 : Despite the fact that Myko got a blackout, he later began dating Erica (who originally got a date with Jim from episode 6). Erica admitted that she regretted turning her light off for him.

^Note 12 : Jase set a record (at the time) for having the highest number of ladies left in the final round in the fourth series, with 23 girls leaving their light on after round three.

^Note 13 : Jordan became the first contestant in the history of Take Me Out to still have all 30 girls with their lights on in the final round.

^Note 14 : Damion and Daniella returned to Take Me Out: The Gossip in October, and revealed that they were getting married.

^Note 15 : Celebrity special.

^Note 16 : Lois later took part in the quiz show The Chase

Series 5 (2013)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Series 6 (2014)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Girls from Series 6

Series 7 (2015)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Girls from Series 7

Notes

^Note 17 : On the last episode of the series, whilst looking at the dates from the episode, Scott and Kat returned, saying that they were celebrating their 10-week anniversary in Fernando's.

Series 8 (2016)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Girls from Series 8

Series 9 (2016–17)

Key:

     – Successful dates

Viewership

Take Me Out has proven popular with the public, generally pulling over 3 million viewers per episode.

Critical reception

In its early days, Take Me Out was reviewed negatively by critics. Shortly after the second series began in December 2010, The Guardian's Tim Dowling said that, "When you strip away its tired, utterly false premise, all that remains of Take Me Out is a lot of flashing lights and some scripted innuendo delivered in a range of regional accents." Reviewing the show after the second series concluded in March 2011, Manchester Grouch of Manchester Central wrote: "ITV should consider renaming the show 'Desperate Moron Lift Disco'" and concluded the review by comparing it to "...a drunken Saturday night out that ends up in a dodgy club having a quick fumble with that girl from the hairdressers you’ve been eyeing up all week." Writing for the Metro during the third series of the show in January 2012, Rachel Tarley said that Take Me Out was the "death knell for feminism disguised as entertainment".

However, after the beginning of the fifth series in January 2013, Julia Raeside, also writing for The Guardian, admitted that the show had become "must-see TV" and was "a worthy successor to Blind Date": "...when Take Me Out noisily barged its way on to the Saturday night schedules in 2010, it was too much for me. The little I'd seen of it put me off trying a whole episode...But about a series ago, Take Me Out really started to grow on me. One night, out of sheer laziness, I didn't bother to switch over – and now they've got me. I don't like nightclubs and I cover my upper arms at all times. But the women behind those podiums, however much I fail to identify with them for wanting to be on TV with their armpits constantly on show, make it gripping viewing."

Controversies

Throughout its run, several Take Me Out contestants, both male and female, have caused controversy by hiding things that are against the show's rules or have offended viewers and/or other contestants by their actions.

Jim Brown

Wrestler Jim Brown, the first contestant on the first series, was accused of continually harassing his date Caroline Mellor despite the fact that their date did not work out. Caroline claimed to receive numerous phone calls and texts from him for over four months. Jim was later also charged with possession of child pornography on his computer. Prior to this, Jim was caught pleasuring himself in a Wishaw Sports Centre cubicle, which alerted the police to investigate him. On 21 March 2014, Jim was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for flouting a ban on going near children.

Wen-Jing Mo and Aaron Withers

The date segment of contestant Wen-Jing Mo scoring a date with construction worker Aaron Withers was axed from the programme after it transpired that Aaron had a criminal conviction for punching a woman, had worked as an escort, and also had a long-term girlfriend, and that Wen-Jing had also worked as an escort for a short period ten years previously.

Damion Merry

The studio segment of contestant Chelsea Stewart scoring a date with model Damion Merry caused controversy when broadcast. During the third and final round, it became apparent that Damion used to date reality television series personality Jodie Marsh, and he later told one of the girls who had turned her light off, Lucy Harrold, that he would have picked her, offending all the girls who still had their lights on. It later transpired that not only was Damion not single at the time the programme was filmed, he was also about to marry his girlfriend Sarah Ann Gras; the segment was broadcast a month after the wedding took place. On This Morning, Marsh later denied having ever dated Damion, saying: "I tell you what, this guy - I went on one date with him, one date...We had pictures in a nightclub, he sold the pictures to the TV show or whoever and gave 'em away and now, it's being told that we had a whole full blown relationship and that I was his ex-girlfriend.".

Rory Alexander

The studio segment of contestant Jade scoring a date with banker Rory Alexander was axed from the programme, after it transpired that Rory was serving a suspended sentence for common assault. Jade did not return to the show.

Jarvis Walters

The studio segment of contestant Hannah Reville scoring a date with semi-professional footballer Jarvis Walters was axed from the programme, after it transpired that Jarvis had served a 12-month community order for assaulting another man in a nightclub in 2009. Hannah did not return to the show.

Param Singh

Many viewers were extremely offended when one of the girls who left her light on for contestant Param Singh made a joke about contestant Param's turban, saying she was interested in him because she could use his turban to store her phone. Despite the fact Param himself took it light-heartedly, many Sikhs found this remark to be extremely offensive. Param later went on to describe the backlash that he received from sections of the Sikh community.

Fakery claims

In 2012, several of the contestants accused the show's producers of telling them whom to choose on each episode. Female contestants complained that they were forced to choose men who they didn't find attractive, while some of the show's male contestants went home without a date after the girls were told not to choose them.

"The whole thing is totally misleading and leaves a whole lot of people feeling humiliated and exploited afterwards," one girl who had appeared on the show told the media.

"The producers pulled some of the girls in and said, 'If you’re waiting for George Clooney or Brad Pitt, they’re not coming',"

"They told us to keep our lights on for the next contestant, who was more than 10 years younger than me. I refused and was taken off."

Other female contestants reported that producers had told them to reject certain men even if they liked them because it made better television.

Influences

Take Me Out is cited by the creators of the website tubecrush.net as being an influence for their website, as they saw it as an example of how the sexual objectification of men had become part of mainstream culture in the UK.

Take Me Out – The Album

Take Me Out – The Album is a 60-song compilation album, which was released 18 November 2013.

Board game

A board game was released on 3 August 2011. It contains: light and buzzer number unit, 100 single man cards, 50 the power is in your hand cards, 1 single girl pad, 12 isle of Fernando's vouchers, coloured dice and rules.