The end of Take Me Out: How it changed our love life
- Published
It's been 11 years since we first stepped foot on the Isle of Fernando's, but now it's time for Take Me Out to turn out the light.
The dating show, hosted by Paddy McGuinness, has been cancelled by ITV after more than 100 episodes.
"We're heartbroken and devastated, it's how we met," former contestants Adam and Beckie Ryan told Radio 1 Newsbeat.
They were both on series eight and are now married with one child.
The show has seen eight weddings and six babies. Adam and Beckie credit the programme for bringing them together, even if the beginning wasn't exactly smooth.
Beckie, then 29, was initially rejected by Adam - he turned out the light on her and chose someone else, but then contacted her two days later.
"He says he was playing hard to get, but I think he panicked and realised that he needed me in his life," Beckie jokes.
Adam, then 32, sent a "cheeky message" while Beckie was actually on a date with someone else.
We have no idea what made it cheeky.
"I just took my chance, shot my shot and it worked," Adam says.
Beckie is now a hairdresser and Adam is an events organiser
"Our first date was in London, and I took Beckie to the theatre. Then six months later, we went back there and I proposed to her on stage."
While Paddy didn't go to the wedding, it's fair to say his presence was felt on the big day.
"He sent us a really lovely video wishing us well, and he was with Keith Lemon and Gino D'Acampo.
"We had about 20 other contestants that did come along to the wedding, because they're friends for life."
They now have a family of their own, with baby Indigo who's almost two years old.
Beckie describes him as "the best thing ever".
'Nice and relatable'
Even after they were on the show, Beckie and Adam continued to watch.
Beckie thinks the show was successful because it could be watched with the whole family.
"Adam watched it with me and we'd be like, 'I can't believe we were actually on this'. It was such an amazing show."
"It was part of your Saturday evening. You could watch it before you were getting ready to go out, and I think all the contestants were pretty normal, nice and relatable to lots of families around the country," Adam adds.
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So why has the show been axed?
Adam thinks shows like Love Island have probably taken over for dating programmes.
And the figures back that up.
The latest series of Take Me Out was watched by an average of 1.83m people, with Love Island having an average of 2.86m.
Many more watched on-demand.
An ITV production source described Paddy as "the dream host"
An ITV spokesman said: "We'd like to thank Paddy, the production team at Thames as well as all the contributors who have appeared on the show for all their hard work in making the show such unmissable television.
"It's sad to see the end of such an iconic show but we have lots of exciting projects with the channel lined up."
But the legacy of Take Me Out will continue, with Adam's twin brother due to marry Ella - a contestant from series eight and one of Beckie's friends.
And while they did consider a honeymoon at Fernando's, Beckie and Adam decided to go to Florida and the Caribbean instead.
"But maybe one day, for our five-year wedding anniversary, I'm going to take Beckie back to Fernando's," Adam says.
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- Published20 September 2017
- Published23 April 2017
