Five Dates a Week: release date of Channel 4 dating show, who is in cast, what is it about?

The offering from Channel 4 is actually an updated rebrand of its 2020 programme Five Guys a Week
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For many of us, dating shows are our ultimate TV watching guilty pleasures - it’s why shows like Love Island, Love is Blind and Married at First Sight continue to be so popular, even if we don’t like to readily admit that we love to indulge in them every now and then.

If you’re on the hunt for a new dating show to get stuck into, then Channel 4 has got you covered with a new season of Five Dates a Week, its rebranded and repackaged iteration of Five Guys a Week.

This is everything you need to know.

What is Five Dates a Week?

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Five Dates a Week is an expansion on the Channel 4 dating show Five Guys a Week, which was launched in 2020 and saw one single girl trial five live-in boyfriends over the course of a week at the same time.

While Five Guys a Week was limited to one single girl and five single guys, Five Dates a Week invites applicates of any gender and sexual orientation to try their hand at the unique match making show.

Similarly to the original format, one singleton will invite five potential partners of their choice to spend a week living with them, all at the same time in the same romantic cottage.

Channel 4 says that the dating show “fast-tracks the “getting to know you” phase of the relationship and gives the picker the opportunity to compare and contrast five dates - in real time”.

Michael and Miranda, Charley, Poppy, Zainab and Brittany (Photo: Channel 4)Michael and Miranda, Charley, Poppy, Zainab and Brittany (Photo: Channel 4)
Michael and Miranda, Charley, Poppy, Zainab and Brittany (Photo: Channel 4)
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Speaking to Radio Times last year about why it was important to give the dating show an inclusive update, executive producer Lorraine Charker-Phillips said that, at the end of the day, no matter who you are, “being loved is universal”.

She said that Channel 4’s groundbreaking drama It’s a Sin drama helped inspire her and fellow producer Simon Dickson to usher in “better representation” into dating programmes.

Charker-Phillips said: “Channel 4 is always ahead of the game when it comes to inclusion; we loved It’s a Sin, and we thought to ourselves, if Channel 4 can nail it in terms of drama, someone needs to pave the way for better representation in terms of non-scripted/entertainment programming.

“We felt it was time that a mainstream dating show reflected the authentic conversation that’s happening in the world around us. And so here we are.”

Who is in the dating show?

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While we don’t have a full cast list of everyone involved in the new season of the dating show, we know that it opens with hopeful singleton Michael, a social media content creator from London who says that he has trouble meeting women who like him for more than just his looks.

In a clip for the upcoming episode shared by Five Dates a Week on Twitter, Michael says: “I was in a relationship for six years. Now that I’m single, I feel like I’m missing my right-hand woman.

“Some people do want to be around me because it will boost their online presence and that’s why I have to be selective of who I choose to be around.

“My mum wants me to find the right person, so she’s going to have somewhat of a say.”

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Having been single for nine months, Michael is ready to enter into Cupid’s Cottage, where five ladies await, ready to get to know him over the course of the week.

When is it out - and how can I watch?

The newest season of Five Dates a Week starts tonight, Sunday 29 May, at 10pm on Channel 4.

If you miss watching the episode on TV then don’t panic - you can always catch up on the Channel 4 website after it’s been broadcast.

If you’re keen to catch up on the first two seasons of the previously named Five Guys a Week, then you can also binge watch all 10 episodes on Channel 4 - starting with Amy, Kellie, Hope, Susan and Nina in season one, and Tara, Bonnie, Aimee, Charlotte and Sharon in season two.

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