Teen First Dates star Fred Sirieix on feeling more of a ‘sense of duty’ with young daters

The maître d’ and presenter, 49, on Teen First Dates and the challenges of dating during a pandemic.

So what’s new with this show, Teen First Dates?

The team is the same and our intention is the same but we’re dealing with young people, from the age of 16 to 19.

Although we don’t want to match them with the love of their life, this lets them experience a first encounter with someone they may like.

So inside our restaurant they have to sit down and have a meal and conversation on a one-to-one. My daughter [Andrea] is 16 years old so, for me, it’s very emotional to do that show.

What goes through your mind as a dad?

When a young person walks in through the door, I imagine what it would be like if it was my daughter and I had to introduce her to a date.

I always feel responsible for anyone who arrives on First Dates because they’ve all got expectations but there’s even more sense of duty with teens because I feel I have to ensure they have a great time.

I want them to look back at their time on the show when they’re 30, 40 or 50 with really warm memories.

Did the teenagers remind you of yourself when you were a youngster?

Seeing those young people just took me straight back to my early teens when I was dating — it was like a trip down memory lane!

It actually unearthed some memories of dating when I was 16 and 17 that I’d completely forgotten about. But it wasn’t the same for me when I was a teenager because I was already working in the restaurant world and I was used to eating out and ordering from menus.

A lot of the teens we had on Teen First Dates do not go to restaurants and some are very shy and introverted. I was really happy to take girls to really fancy restaurants. I think my only worry was that a girl might not want to kiss me at the end of a date!

Have teenage interactions changed?

Just like adults, some teens have more difficult lives and others have an easy, lovely time but the real difference between now and when I was young is that phones and social media have changed the way people interact with each other — and not for the better.

Do you embarrass your teenage daughter?

I always embarrass her without fail. But I get away with it because she thinks I’m funny so at least I make her laugh. My daughter is so different from how I was because she’s a diving champion, an elite athlete and they have such focus.

She’s also kind and compassionate and nobody’s fool. The other day she said, ‘I am going to take myself off social media and give myself a break,’ and I am looking at her and thinking, ‘Which one is the adult here?’

How did social distancing impact on filming?

We had two parts of filming and the second one coincided with lockdown. So when we returned, mid-pandemic, we were operating with strict protocols. Nobody was allowed to leave their bubble, we had temperature checks and distancing measures.

There are strict protocols in the hospitality industry so it was fine because we were used to rules. Also, we all needed to follow the rules to get rid of the virus. It’s terrible seeing how badly the hospitality industry has been damaged.

I really miss working in my restaurant because the social interactions with fellow workers and diners have been such a huge part of my life.

How has Covid affected dating?

It must be tough for someone who is single and working from home. On one hand, it’s great that we have Zoom and dating apps so people can at least get in touch and interact but there are limits to the conversations you can have into a screen. And you are losing some of the dynamism and excitement and physical contact that you can’t replace.

I think anyone who Zooms a date and thinks things have gone well should arrange a walk because it’s only if someone’s in physical proximity that you can tell what they’re like. You can meet someone on Zoom 20 or 30 times and still not really get a sense of what they’re like.

When I was in my early teens, the Aids crisis happened and that same fear factor was there. It made everyone distance from each other and it was a worldwide pandemic. These Covid times have really made me think back to those days.

What have you been doing in lockdown?

I’ve always been very active physically so I’ve done a lot of sport, played football with my son, done a lot of cooking at home and I’ve been spending a lot of time talking to my friends and family on the phone and via Zoom.

I’ve set out to make the most of every single day because that way it helped stop boredom. And on days when I’ve just not felt like working out or I can’t be bothered, I’ve pushed myself even more to prove, just to me, that I’ve still got it!

Teen First Dates is on Mondays at 10pm on E4.

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