WE all fell for Davina McCall’s My Mum, Your Dad, with viewers desperate for news of series two.
So it gives me great pleasure to say the midlife dating show wasn’t just a fling for ITV and it’s officially signed up for a second series.
Bosses were thrilled with the bumper ratings – with final figures looking to consolidate at an average of three million viewers per episode.
And it was the icing on the cake to see the dating experiment, which followed single parents in their 40s and 50s looking for love in a Surrey mansion, proved so successful for its cast too.
I revealed last month how widowed postman Roger Hawes was still loved-up with Janey Smith, while Elliot Davidson and Sharon Benson had also made it work since leaving the retreat.
A source said: “There was just such a warm, positive feeling around the show and everyone was thrilled with the ratings for a launch series.
“Everyone remains very excited to see how the format can develop in future.”
I’m sure corks will also be popping at Davina’s home.
Davina told me: “I want to present this show for the rest of my life!
“I’ve been sent photographs of couples since! The show works. I really am Cupid!”
Sounds like we’re all smitten with this one.
PENNANT HAS F-AB FINISH
JERMAINE Pennant reckons he has “unfinished business” on SAS: Who Dares Wins after being forced to quit with heat exhaustion – but was chuffed to show off a six-pack of abs to girlfriend Jess Impiazzi.
The former footballer was forced out of the series for medical reasons on last night’s episode along with The Wanted singer Siva Kaneswaran and paralympian Jon-Allan Butterworth.
He told me: “I was absolutely devastated. Not to quit or not to have the DS to kick me out, but to get withdrawn medically . . . it was very disappointing.
“I felt like a broken man by that stage . . . But I also got trim as well, because we were doing a lot of weight training lifting all that gear every day.
“Jess went, ‘Oh, I can see some abs’. She was loving my SAS body.”
JOKES OK FOR DAVID
SIR DAVID Attenborough may treat his work as a wildlife narrator with the utmost seriousness, but at 97 he’s still not too grown up to indulge in a silly gag.
Mike Gunton, an exec on the nature legend’s new series, Planet Earth III revealed: “We have a sequence in episode four involving a fish called a Nimbochromis Livingstonii that pretends to play dead in order to mount surprise attacks on species that come near it.
“This particular fish was clearly a novice because it generated a bubble of air, while it was supposedly holding its breath, which rose to the surface.
“The producer wrote in a fart gag and David said: ‘Oh, the fart gag, of course we should have one!’”
Nevertheless the team remained as professional as ever, with one cameraman revealing he taught himself to sleep in “five second burst” to avoid missing any action.
Planet Earth III premieres on BBC One on October 22.
ITV teased a new theme for this year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here as the first trailer aired.
Captioned “The Jungle Retreat”, two sun loungers sat among the foliage, whilst a pool assistant handed out a damp towel.
I’m sure hosts Ant and Dec don’t plan to leave celebs in luxury for long.
LIFE WAS ROCKY FOR ADE
ADRIAN Edmondson has revealed childhood bullying over having a “girls’” name was intensified by the release of Hollywood movie, Rocky.
The comedian – who goes by Ade – had long been teased for his moniker, but after Talia Shire starred as Adrian Pennino in the 1976 classic, things went from bad to worse.
He wrote in his new book, Berserker!: “The film Rocky sent everything spinning back to the beginning again . . .
“Right at the end of the fight – badly bruised and bleeding, Rocky’s yelling at the top of his voice, ‘Adrian! Adrian!’ because, of course, dear reader, that’s his girlfriend’s name.
“And that brutal, primeval, guttural scream – ‘Adrian!’ – becomes the accepted way to pronounce my name.”
FAN FAVE SHOWS RETURN
THE BBC is bringing back some of its binge-worthy fan-favourite daytime shows.
Policing programme Scam Interceptors and craft show Make It At Market are among the series which have been commissioned for new seasons.
Criminal-catching Big Little Crimes will also return for a second and third series, this time based in Wales.
While Dr Xand’s Con Or Cure, which exposes medical crimes and tests fad treatments, will be back alongside Moment Of Proof and Fraud Squad.
Head of BBC Daytime Rob Unsworth said: “We’re delighted to bring them back for more programmes.”
BATTLE OF THE FITTEST
THIS lovely-looking lot make up some of Joel Dommett‘s new Survivors – but they appear to be more Love Island than Lost.
Professional roller-skater Tinuke, Irish boxer Lee and personal trainers Rach and Nathan show off the kind of bombshell selfies that would turn heads in the villa.
Instead they were forced to survive on a barren island in the Dominican Republic for the BBC’s reboot of the iconic challenge show.
Eighteen brave contestants have to catch their own food, build shelters and compete against each other in a range of physical and mental challenges to win rewards or immunity from being voted out of the competition.
The sole survivor at the end of the series will win a £100,000 cash prize.
The show lands on BBC One soon.
