Mark Labbett dives back into the dating pool in Celebs Go Dating. But one health-related incident led him to experience a terrifying moment behind the scenes of the C4 show.
Mark admitted he hasn’t had much experience in the dating pool(Image: Channel 4)Celebs Go Dating has returned to screens for its 14th series, as the popular reality dating show gets underway. Relationship experts Anna Williamson, Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn and Paul C Brunson are back at the agency.
And of course, not forgetting everyone’s favourite receptionist, Tom Read Wilson. Among the stars seeking love on Celebs Go Dating is The Chase star Mark Labbett. “I’ve been single for most of my life,” he admits. “I’m a little bit on the spectrum.”
Mark, famed for his portrayal of The Beast on ITV quiz show The Chase, confesses that interpreting human signals is far more challenging than answering quiz questions. “Facts are easy, people are complicated.”
A health scare related to diabetes added an extra layer of difficulty to filming for the television star, as reported by the Mirror. “One night, I had a hypoglycaemic attack,” he reveals. “I might have been a bit grumpy that night. I apologised to everyone after.”
Mark explained that a nap on set aided his recovery. However, the real surprise came when the agents asked him to interpret social cues. “I went, ‘What do you mean?,'” he recalls. “‘You don’t notice people’s emotions when in the room? ,’ and I said no. There was shock on both sides.”
Mark is best known as ‘The Beast’ on ITV’s The ChaseMeanwhile, Anna Williamson was delighted to return to the Channel 4 reality series. The newest season of Celebs Go Dating has had an exotic twist, as the celebrities embark on their dating adventures with a trip to Ibiza.
“Get your popcorn ready,” Anna teases. “We have a ‘new’ agency this series. We’ve got amazing celebrities who are so different. They each brought such different challenges for us coaches to work on.”
The new series will welcome some familiar faces from the showbiz world, including Love Island’s Olivia Hawkins, Too Hot To Handle’s Louis Russell, The Sandman’s Donna Preston, and Made In Chelsea’s Sam Prince are all set to embark on their journeys alongside Mark.
Joining them are television personality and autism advocate Christine McGuinness, singer and reality star Kerry Katona, who is making a comeback to the show after six years, and S Club 7’s Jon Lee.
“The challenge this year was trying to keep up with the celebrities and their dating prowess,” Anna admits. “It was quite challenging to help some of our celebrities unlearn certain behaviours. Some of them didn’t know how to even walk into a date and execute it appropriately.”
Anna, Tara, and Paul will be on hand once more in guiding the celebs as they navigate through their dates, spotting any detrimental patterns. “We let things play out,” Anna reveals.
“They feel emotional, tearful – that’s part of the process. It’s a very important part of the work. When we get to our vulnerable side, we start to look at what needs to be done.”
The journey can be difficult, especially when dealing with high-profile celebs. “With celebrities, they are typically very guarded,” Anna highlights.
“They’ve usually lost a bit of faith in the dating world because they’ve been burnt a lot along the way. Their dating pool tends to be smaller because they tend to date more within their celebrity circle.They’ve been burnt by people selling stories or that haven’t been dating them for genuine reasons. They can be a bit guarded and jaded.”
Regarding what lies ahead, Anna holds ambitious expectations for the programme. “Pete Wicks has been on three times, we may as well have Sam (Thompson) on three times,” she remarks. However, her true desire is for a reunion.
“I would love to do an All Stars version of Celebs Go Dating,” she reveals. “Paul and I are always talking about this, because we’ve had so many celebrities come through our doors. We are always in touch with them.”
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