A Scouser is hoping to find love on the UK’s first gay dating show.
Mikey Connor is currently appearing on BBC’s I Kissed A Boy - hosted by pop singer Dannii Minogue. The Australian star plays the role of Cupid as the show, set in an Italian Masseria, follows ten queer guys “on a holiday of a lifetime in their search for that perfect date”.
The premise of the show focuses on the contestants kissing the first time they met and then proceeding to get to know one another afterwards.
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Mikey, a 28-year-old referee, appeared at the end of episode one and has yet to be paired up with anyone - in Love Island terms, he was a “bombshell” so to speak.
The former semi-professional footballer said he feels like he will “be the drama without realising I was the drama”, before adding: “You are going to see a lot of kisses and a lot of wandering eyes from me. What can I say, I fancy who I fancy so I’m gonna kiss them.”
The self-confessed flirt, who lives in Liverpool with his mum and his younger brother, describes himself as being family-orientated and admitted to being a “complete mummy’s boy who enjoys bingo with his nan”.
When Mikey isn’t refereeing or watching football, he works part-time as a model and has over 155,000 followers on TikTok, showing “he is used to sharing his life with the world”.
Before entering the show, Mikey has had two proper relationships and said he wears his heart on his sleeve and “tends to put his cards on the table too quickly”.
Mikey’s stint on the show comes after he just travelled the world and is now hoping to settle down. He added: “I’m here to kiss a boy. And nobody’s gonna stop me."
The show is said to be packed with “explosive drama, gripping cliffhangers and powerful untold stories” - from coming out in a strict religious family to the pressures of body image in the gay dating scene to navigating self-acceptance, sex and first same-sex relationships.
Host and LGBTQ+ ally Dannii said: “It is sexy and romantic and these connections could lead them to their perfect partner. It is the first-ever gay dating series in the UK - the first time these guys meet, they will kiss. Then it is time to get to know the person they kissed and why they were teamed up together.
"If you have ever been clubbing, spotted someone you were attracted to like a magnet, kissed, and then got to know them - this is it, but with a little help from me and the, I Kissed A Boy love matching team.
“It is the first chance for gay dating to be seen on UK TV in the reality genre. It was far too long that calls for this type of show fell on deaf ears. The door is now wide open and the possibilities are now there for inclusion.”
I Kissed A Boy continues on Sundays and Mondays on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer
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