First Dates Hotel returns to Channel 4 for a new series on Tuesday, September 6. In the first episode, two Welsh singletons will find themselves on a date after previously matching on Tinder. Both of them initially describe how they have 'given up' on romance, but is all that about to change?
Upon entering the restaurant in Italy, Bridgend's ex-military paramedic Gareth, 35, finds himself with someone who he'd previously spoken to on the dating app - nursing assistant Carys, 28, from Barry. Prior to going on the date, Gareth says: “Bridgend, South Wales is quite a small community where everyone knows each other, so trying to find somebody and meet somebody from there is difficult.” Echoing this is Carys, who says of her own hometown: “I wouldn’t say the dating pool of Barry is very good at all. It’s either full of old people or young children.”
Sitting down for their date, Carys tells Gareth: “I’m pretty sure we’ve spoken before,” and he replies, “Do you think?” She confirms that they’d matched on Tinder around three years ago. “You can’t grasp someone over the internet. You don’t know until you meet them,” she tells her date, who then proceeds to compliment her brown eyes. For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.
Carys, who has one child, opens up about a former partner and tells her date how he has been “non-existent” in her son's life. She describes how she was 22 years old when she got pregnant and her partner at the time wanted nothing to do with his child. Gareth then comments that he has also found it hard to find someone who is “on the same wavelength” as him when it comes to children. Gareth is divorced and has a son with his ex-wife.
When conversation turns to their jobs, Gareth talks about his time in Afghanistan and Iraq. “You must see some things about being a paramedic in the Army though?” asks Carys and he replies: “You don’t realise how it is affecting you.” He does confess, however, that "adrenaline overweighs fear" and it is this that made him want to work in the Army.
When asked why he eventually decided to return from the Army, Gareth replies: “I got blown up a few too many times,” recalling an instance in Kabul which eventually made him return home for good. In emotional scenes, he reveals: “I remember having my son in my car and freezing on a roundabout and just crying. It’s just horrible. I’m in a different place now and I’m ready to meet somebody and bring that person into my world,” he adds.
The date concludes with both Gareth and Carys saying that they’d be keen to get to know each other during their time in Italy. Despite getting on well, a title card at the end of the episode reveals: “For Gareth and Carys, there’s ‘not much occurring’ and they’ve decided to remain friends.”
First Dates Hotel airs on Tuesday, September 6 at 10pm on Channel 4
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