First Dates originally aired in 2013 and the popular format has been repeated in over 20 territories, with a spin off show, First Dates Hotel, created in 2017 taking the search for love to France and Italy.

Hundreds of couples have been matched up in the search for their soulmate, with the help of Maître d’ Fred Sirieix and his team.

The show has led to a host of engagements, marriages and even a baby.

The series production company, Twenty Twenty, has moved First Dates to Manchester as part of their commitment to UK regions.

Channel 4 now has a new regional hub in Bristol, where the First Dates casting, story editing and post-production team will now be based.

Alongside the move, Channel 4 and Twenty Twenty are co-funding a new training scheme to help train 24 Bristol based production staff who will work on the show.

Managing director and head of Twenty Twenty, Leanne Klein, commented: “We are very excited to be taking our flagship dating series to the regions."

She added that the move will offer daters “a brand-new experience” and hinted that there will be “a few exciting tweaks to the much-loved format.”

The next series of First Dates will return in the coming months and will be filmed at the usual Paternoster Chop House in London, with the new Manchester based restaurant to be revealed at a later date.