Romeo and Duet: release date of ITV musical dating show, who is host Oti Mabuse, trailer, what is it about?

Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Oti Mabuse has given up the Glitterball Trophy to play matchmaker for romantic hopefuls on ITV’s new dating show Romeo & Duet.

This is everything you need to know about the new series.

What is the new dating show?

Romeo & Duet is a new dating show from ITV which combines the format of a classic blind dating show and a singing competition.

The show will see single singers attempt to woo a contestant down from the balcony with just a song - the two won’t see each other face to face unless the participant being serenaded decides to come down the balcony to meet their potential match.

The newly formed couple will then go off on a duet date to learn a duet before they return to the stage to compete in a singing competition, facing off against the other couples formed on the show.

The winning couple will then be whisked away on another date to see if they are a true match after all.

Is there a trailer?

The official ITV Twitter account tweeted a trailer for the new dating show, which you can see here.

Who is host Oti Mabuse?

You’ll likely recognise Mabuse as one of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing, after making her debut in 2015.

She has claimed the Glitterball trophy twice - once in 2019 with Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher and again the following year in 2020 with comedian Billy Bailey.

Mabuse was born in South Africa and, prior to embarking on her journey as a professional dancer, had studied civil engineering.

Mabuse, along with her sister Motsi, who you may know as a judge on the Strictly Come Dancing panel, began dancing at a young age.

She has won the South African Latin American Championship eight times, and has a number of other dancing titles under her belt, including third place in the World Cup Freestyle Latin in 2014, second place at the European Championship Latin in 2014 and first place in German Championship PD Freestyle Latin.

As well as appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Mabuse has also taken part in the German equivalent of the show called Let’s Dance as both a professional dancer and a judge. She was also a dance captain on The Greatest Dancer, and in 2021 was a panellist on The Masked Dancer.

In 2014, Mabuse married her husband, Romanian dancer Marius Lepure. The two currently live in London.

What has Oti Mabuse said about the new show?

Mabuse has described the new series as a “fun dating show that is crossed with music and singing”, calling it the “perfect entertainment show for the whole family”.

Talking about stepping up as a host on Romeo & Duet, Mabuse said: “I’m so excited to be part of Romeo & Duet.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to host so this is a real pinch me moment, and it’s a blessing for me to finally be able to share this news. I honestly can’t wait to get started!

“It’s about love with a little bit of a twist and showcase of talent, it’s fresh and fun, and I hope everyone’s going to love it as much as I do.

“Thank you to Katie Rawcliffe, Mel Crawford and Joe Mace for believing in me and giving me this incredible opportunity.”

When asked if she thought that the show could spell true love for its contestants, she said: “Not all of them do find love [but] some of them you can genuinely see it through the screen.

“We could feel it, definitely, when we were watching and just experiencing the whole thing. [We could tell when] they had the most chemistry and that they’re going to get on really well.”

When is Romeo and Duet on TV?

The first episode of Romeo and Duet will air tonight, Saturday 16 April at 7pm on ITV.

Subsequent episodes will air at the same time on ITV each Saturday.

There will be seven episodes in total of the first season of the new show.