A First Dates applicant who found love with his match has just five years to live.
Terminally ill Mike Sumner, 38, met Zoe Welch on the Channel 4 show and they moved in together after falling for each other.
Mike had initially signed up to appear on the dating programme after he decided he wanted to go on TV as part of his bucket list.
The 38-year-old who was Motor Neurone Disease, had watched the dating programme for "years" and after he discovered he had limited time, it pushed him to apply.
Mike, who lives in Grimsby, said that his condition has deteriorated and he has approximately five years to live, reports GrimsbyLive.
"I'd watched it for years and at the end of the series in 2019, they were asking for applicants.
"I thought I'd fill it in, but I wasn't sure if it would really come to anything.
"In January 2020, I received a call saying I'd made it to the next stage and went through a series of video meetings to see how I came across on screen.
“They were trying to work out how funny I was and if I could be entertaining enough to appear on the show.
"A couple of weeks after, I was told they wanted me to go to the next stage and I went down to London to film my introduction piece where I sat and spoke about what I was looking for.
"They did tell me that it didn't mean I would be on the show for definite.
“It still depended on whether or not they could find me a match. If they couldn't that would be it and the intro would just be kept in their bank, but never seen.
"Thankfully, they found me a date and I was invited to the restaurant in Manchester in early March 2020, it was ages in the making due to the pandemic."
Despite his episode being aired in 2021, he still appears in the opening credits where he exclaimed "f****** hell" after girlfriend Zoe downed a pint.
Since the pair met on the show, they now get recognised on the street.
Speaking of how he feels to see his face on TV, he said: "It's still weird and I never get used to seeing it. Believe it or not, Zoe and I get recognised in the street sometimes because of it.
"It was great to meet Fred and Merlin though, they were genuine people and Merlin had an answer for everything.
”I do distinctly remember him asking me what Grimsby was known for and I just said 'fish and asbos'."
Mike added that not all is as it seems with the show, and said that he chatted with Merlin for longer than the show suggested.
"I spoke to Merlin for much longer than the show suggests too. We must have been speaking for about 10 minutes or so about all sorts, but they don't show that much."
Speaking of his illness he said: "It has worsened recently, for example, I've lost a certain amount of dexterity in my left hand.
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"My balance is still a total nightmare too and my speech has also slowed down recently.
"I do have bad days, but Zoe has definitely kept me going and kept me positive, especially during lockdown."
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