Paddy McGuinness’ ITV dating show Take Me Out axed after 11 years after ‘running its course’
HIT ITV dating show Take Me Out has been axed after 11 years.
The Saturday night mainstay, hosted by Paddy McGuinness, ran for more than 100 episodes but channel bosses felt it had “run its course”.
An ITV spokesman said: “We’ve decided to say goodbye to Take Me Out."
A TV source said: “ITV and Paddy have done all the specials you can eke out of a dating show, so it’s been decided it’s time for it to go.
"As with many shows, ratings have slid a bit in recent years.
"But it will go down as a big success — it’s had more weddings than Blind Date.”
The series focused on a single man arriving in the “Love Lift”, who had to convince 30 girls to keep their lights on for him.
After several rounds, he could choose a girl from those left to take on a date to the Isle of Fernando’s — a fictional location in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.
The series saw host Paddy, 46, coin the catchphrase, “No likey, no lighty!”
"We’d like to thank Paddy, the production team at Thames as well as all the contributors for their hard work in making the show such unmissable television.”
A production source said: “We’re really sad to see the end but after 11 years, eight weddings and six babies, our work is done.
“We have lots of exciting projects with the channel lined up.”
Paddy is now a co-host of the BBC’s motoring show Top Gear.
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