Maura Higgins officially announced as Blind Date reboot host in biggest TV job yet

MAURA Higgins has landed her biggest TV job yet as she becomes the new host of the Blind Date reboot. The Sun revealed in June that the Irish star was being lined-up to help others find romance — as the next Cilla Black on the rebooted show. Maura Higgins has been announced as the new host of Disney+ reboot of Blind Date Credit: Getty Cilla Black fronted Blind Date from its debut in 1985 up to 2003 Credit: Rex Now, Disney+ have confirmed the news and announced that Maura, 35, will be fronting the show, which is due to start filming this year. The new series will keep the classic format but once the daters have coupled up, they will spend the summer together in a new twist. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Angela Jain, head of content at Disney+ EMEA, said: “Maura is the perfect match for our version of Blind Date. “Her distinctive straight-talking humour, coupled with her experience as a reality dating show contestant, means we know she has the gravitas plus the wit to bring Blind Date to new audiences. READ MORE ON MAURA HIGGINS “We’re very much looking forward to Maura helping our daters navigate their own journeys to find love as she steps into the famed Blind Date host role.” It comes as glamourous Maura’s profile has soared both in Britain and across the Atlantic, where she has appeared on The Traitors US and Love Island USA. A TV insider told The Sun in June: “Discussions are at an advanced stage, with the show’s producers convinced Maura’s the perfect choice for the job. “Not only did she shoot to fame on a TV dating contest, she is now an internationally famous face which is what a global service like Disney need for one of their shows. Most read in Showbiz “Maura also has an unquestionable glamour combined with cheeky charm which has echoes of Blind Date’s most famous host.” Cilla fronted Blind Date from its debut in 1985 up to 2003, pulling in up to 17 million viewers before it was shelved by ITV. She died in 2015 aged 72. The show was less successful when it was revived by Channel 5 from 2017 to 2019 with Cilla’s pal, Paul O’Grady, who passed away in 2023 aged 67. Disney+ are looking to air the reboot at some time next year. The Sun exclusively revealed last June it was bringing back the matchmaking show, and wanted a female presenter. Execs were looking for someone suitable for the modern twists they are putting on the old format, which saw a contestant choose one of three potential partners hidden behind a wall. It is understood the famous barrier will remain, though it is unclear if there will be an equivalent of the narrator, “our Graham” Skidmore, who passed away in 2021. Maura shot to fame in 2019 when she reached the final of Love Island with dancer Curtis Pritchard, the brother of former Strictly pro AJ. She went on to star in a string of other ITV shows including Dancing on Ice, Cooking with the Stars and the 2024 series of I’m a Celebrity, which was won by McFly’s Danny Jones. The singer, 40, was seen kissing Maura at a party after last year’s Brit Awards, leading to a public apology to his wife, Georgia Horsley. Comment now