Has anyone ever found love or got together on Come Dine With Me?

The first episode of Come Dine With Me aired in 2005 (Picture: Channel 4)

It’s hard to believe Come Dine With Me has been on air now for over 15 years.

That’s a lot of starters, main courses and desserts for the contestants to digest as they compete for the title of ultimate dinner party host.

We can look forward to some re-runs on 4seven this week, with five strangers from Sussex pitting their culinary skills against each other.

They do say though that the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. Which obviously begs the question…

Has anyone got together on Come Dine With Me?

With more than 550 episodes having been made since the Channel 4 favourite started in 2005, you’d have thought there’d been some sparks flying across the dining table.

Yet Come Dine With Me has been more likely to put people at odds than put them together.

DJ Kev Riley famously shoved a whisk in his mouth in 2012 (Picture: Channel 4)

The only whiff of romance we’ve been able to detect came in 2015 when it was mooted that two of that year’s contestants – Rob Crisp and Petrina Johnson – were going to meet for a coffee after filming.

According to Petrina, though, the date never happened. ‘Rob got back with his ex-girlfriend the very next day after filming,’ she revealed last year on Twitter.

‘The day after filming was my birthday, my ex wanted to meet up and we ended up getting back together,’ Rob explained on Facebook.

But the pair have remained friends and meet up regularly with the only three diners they met during shooting.

Viewers may well wonder why there haven’t there been any romantic encounters on the show – but the answer to that is simple.

It’s because the contestants have more than enough to contend with getting their meals ready for their demanding guests.

Each batch of shows is shot over the space of a week, with each half-hour episode culled from eight hours of filming.

The latest episodes were filmed in a converted barn (Picture: MultiStory Media)

The contestants don’t get paid for their trouble either, though they are given £125 each to spend on food and entertainment.

With so much pressure, it’s not surprising that tempers sometimes flare, resulting in more than one unforgettable viral moment.

All in all, we wouldn’t recommend Come Dine With Me if you were hoping to find love through a reality TV experience.

First Dates would be a much better show in that regard, having started more than one romance over its eight years on air.

The redoubtable Fred Sirieix supervises Channel 4’s First Dates (Picture: Tom Dunkley)

Plenty of couples found each other and have stayed together since meeting on the Channel 4 show.

They include Hema and Ajai, who tied the knot two years after appearing on the show in 2016, and Ibiba and Aarron, parents of the first First Dates baby.

Shaun and Greig, who appeared on the show in 2017, are also married, with Shaun announcing the news on Twitter.

Addressing host Fred, he tweeted ‘Remember seeing us earlier this year? Well last week I asked Greig to marry me, and he said yes! Can’t thank you enough for everything! Shaun.’

And let’s not forget First Dates Hotel where countless other couples have met, such as Vanessa and Julien, who even got engaged in a later episode of the spin-off show.

Come Dine with Me airs weekdays from 2.30pm on 4seven.

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