First Dates’ head waitress has told how staff discourage daters from drinking too much, to avoid morning-after regrets.
Behind the scenes of the RTE show, restaurant management ensure no-one makes a bad decision due to having too much booze on board.
Waitress Alice Marr admits she and her colleagues use a few tricks of the trade to keep the alcohol at a respectable level.
She told the Irish Daily Mirror: “People are adults, so we can’t have rules over them. But we discourage people from heavily drinking.”
“You’ll see it sometimes. People ask me for shots, I’ll bring them one, but then they’ll ask me for more and I’ll say: ‘Ah, just have your dessert.’ Or I’ll change the subject, if it seems like people are getting drunk.
“Some people are nervous and they’re drinking wine faster than expected. That’s normal, and it’s really not common for anyone to drink heavily.
“But in some cases, if it gets to the point where we are going: ‘Ok, we don’t want them to regret anything’ then we just act like we are terrible waiters.
“Or we’re really slow with the drinks. It takes half an hour for their drinks to come,” she laughs.
“We just slow it down,” she added. “I think people have wisened up a bit, while they are on the first date, especially on television.”
The Clare-based show favourite has been on First Dates Ireland since it began in 2015. She was scouted by a producer while working at a bar in Dublin.
The actress, who was studying drama and theatre in Trinity at the time, has overseen hundreds of dates. She let us in on some of the secrets of the series.
From camera hiding places, cheeky chat-up lines on the side, to early morning dates, she reveals what really happens on First Dates Ireland.
“It’s funny - people come in and say: ‘you are actually a normal human’,” she said, recalling how some daters are star-struck when they enter Dublin’s Gibson Hotel, where the show takes place.
Looking back at some of the chancers who have turned their attention to her - instead of their organised date - over the years, she added: “I have had a bit of attention in that way, but mostly, people have a bit of cop-on to be respectful to their date.
“But there is a bit - and maybe also people put their foot in their mouth because of nerves. Or if the date hasn’t worked out, and they are a bit disappointed, that also might be a reason.”
She revealed how many aspects of the show - from table size to date times - have come as a shock to contestants when they arrive to film.
She said: “One of the surprising things is the dates starting early.
“Another one is the cameras are fixed on the walls and on the odd surface, so they are quite subtle.
“I think people expect a whole crew of camera men over their table, so they have no privacy. They’re looking around for the cameras.
“Which is not the case at all. That’s why they open up so much, because they actually feel like it’s private.
“The place is quite intimate and small which is lovely and makes such a difference - but people expect it to be bigger.”
Covid changes and social distancing measures have also added to this list in recent years.
“With Covid, we have those unbelievably long tables for safety. So definitely that has been unexpected for people over the years,” she added.
First Dates Ireland airs on RTE 2 tonight at 9.30pm.
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