‘It’s a very British version’

Is love really blind?

It’s a question that’s been asked in the US, Brazil and Japan, countries which all have iterations of the wildly successful Netflix format Love is Blind.

But now, the UK is finally prepared to tackle the question itself, as a British version is dropping on the streaming service next month.

The latest version doesn’t introduce any surprises, even though it might sound unusual hearing regional UK accents ranging from Belfast to Bolton on a show which has been running for six seasons in America.

The format sees strangers, living in male and female quarters, go on dates in “pods” – where they cannot see the person on the other side.

If they find someone they fall in love with, they will get engaged, only meeting for the first time after they’ve agreed to get married.

The UK show is hosted by husband-and-wife duo Emma and Matt Willis. Emma says one motivation for people applying is dating app fatigue.

“People were just kind of over it, you just go in really on what somebody looks like,” she tells BBC News. “And I like that this kind of flips that on its head, and you have to make a connection with somebody before you even see them.”

She adds: “To me, it’s also quite refreshing that I’ve never been on an app because we met pre dating app.”

The rest of the series follows the couples as their relationships are tried and tested on honeymoons, living together, and meeting each other’s families and friends.

And, perhaps the biggest challenge of all, finally seeing fellow contestants they previously matched with.

If they survive all this, they make it to the altar.

Matt and Emma Willis say it was “wicked” to work together, as their jobs often mean they work apart.

The pair have been married since 2008. Matt shot to fame as a member of boyband Busted, while Emma became a TV presenter with hosting jobs on MTV and ITV’s The Hot Desk. She later fronted The Voice UK and Big Brother.

(The US version is also helmed by a husband-and-wife duo, the ultra-glamorous power couple Nick and Vanessa Lachey.)

Fans of the format might wonder how British contestants, who are stereotypically more reserved, might fare in the pods and on dramatic confessionals.

And, perhaps predictably, Emma says that the show is true to British “banter” and sensibilities.

“It’s just a very British version – it’s quite self-deprecating,” Emma explains. “There’s a lot of humour, a lot of banter.

“And you can you can kind of tell that when they say [things in the pods], you feel like they really mean it, because you kind of feel like they wouldn’t say if they didn’t.”

Love is Blind is entering a saturated market – reality dating shows in the UK are hardly a new thing – and there’s loads to swipe through.

From Love Island, which has waned in popularity since its 2019 heyday, to the new show Rylan is presenting, Dating Naked, to Married at First Sight and Love Triangle, it can be difficult for formats to stand out.

Due to its unique premise, the first series of Love is Blind saw many critics enjoy elements of the show, despite their best efforts.

In a two-star review, the Guardian’s Lucy Mangan wrote: “Love Is Blind is absurd, revolting, endearing, toxic and wholesome by turns – and addictive as hell throughout.”

Emma believes the show will continue to stand out due to its casting.

“I think the cast is really good. And they have got people who genuinely want to meet their life partner and settle down,” she says.

“I think in the other TV shows maybe the dating aspect is secondary to being on telly, whereas this one feels like the telly is a vehicle for them to fall in love,” adds Matt.

For Emma, filming of Love is Blind reminded her of the production of Big Brother – which she began presenting in 2013, when it was on Channel 5 (she had previously hosted the reality hit’s spin-off shows.)

“It was like Big Brother all over again. Like back when I first worked on it, it was just a gallery of screens with all of these people dating, it was like a dream,” she said.

“And they pulled up a chair for us, gave us some earphones and they gave us a little box with buttons on so we could flip between the pods.”

The pod stage of the UK series is filmed in Sweden (there is also a Swedish version of the show).

“We were like, yeah, we’ll stay and watch a couple. We stayed for an hour and a half and we the only reason we stopped and we had to get on the plane.”

An hour and a half is nothing compared with how long some of the dates were, though, with Matt saying some couple were going on six to eight hour dates, days in a row.

“We got to try the pods out as well,” he adds.

“And I can see why this works – there’s no other distraction. There’s no noise, there’s nothing.

“There’s not like a big camera in the room or anything.

“You kind of get lost in this world with this other person voice – when you watch an episode where someone might propose at the end, but that’s been two weeks of intense dating.”

While the pair stress the show does produce genuine couples – two couples from the first US series are still together – obviously, for the format to work, there has to be some heartbreak.

And Emma says viewers won’t be disappointed when it comes to the storylines.

“There’s drama – but it’s done in a very British way,” she says. “It’s just really true to our sense of humour.”

Love isn’t always blind, but we do know it makes entertaining television.

The first instalment of Love is Blind is released on Netflix on 7 August.