Who will present Blind Date reboot?

Almost 15 years after it was taken off air, Blind Date is returning to TV screens.

Up to 18 million people regularly tuned in to have a "lorra, lorra laughs" with host Cilla Black and the singletons hoping to find love before first sight during the show's heyday in the 1980s and 1990s.

However, ITV pulled the show in 2003, after Black unexpectedly announced live on air that she would not be returning for a 19th series.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But it has been announced that Channel 5 has now bought the rights to the format and is deciding who will fill Black's iconic shoes to front the programme.

Here are some of the contenders said to be in the running.

Graham Norton

The chat show host is currently bookmaker Coral's favourite, the Daily Telegraph reports, and his cheeky sense of humour and knack for getting the best out of his guests would certainly make him a spiritual successor to Black.

However, with the BBC's Graham Norton Show more popular than ever, there are doubts about whether he could be lured to Channel 5.

Vicky Pattison

According to The Sun, which first reported news of the reboot, Geordie Shore star Pattison is one of Channel 5's top picks to take on hosting duties.

Since being crowned Queen of the Jungle in I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, the Newcastle-born star has shown a flair for light entertainment. She now presents I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp and is a team captain on E4 panel show Virtually Famous.

Olly Murs

"Popstar Olly Murs is tipped to be the new host of Blind Date," BBC Newsbeat reports. He might be a dab hand with a love song, but could the singer actually help Britain's singletons find romance?

The former X Factor runner-up is best known for his musical output, but he is no stranger to the hosting gig, having presented the talent show and its spin-off The Xtra Factor, taken on DJ duties for Heart FM and fronted his own ITV special, A Night In with Olly Murs.

However, in 2015, Murs turned down an offer to continue presenting The X Factor to concentrate on his music career, so it might take a lot of persuading to get him to sign on for Blind Date.

Georgia May Foote

Familiar to TV audiences for her five-year stint as Katy Armstrong in Coronation Street, Georgia May Foote is said to be in talks with Blind Date's production company So Television.

Of the named frontrunners, she has the least presenting experience, although she has done the rounds as a guest on shows such as Celebrity Juice and Loose Women.

Foote's former Corrie colleague, Helen Flanagan, is also reportedly tipped to be under consideration.