Exclusive – Why Channel 4's inclusive new dating show spin-off Five Dates A Week is so important: "Being loved is universal"

Five Dates A Week, which opened applications earlier this week, will invite one singleton (the "picker") to pick out five potential romantic partners, before living together for a week – all at the same time.

"Whatever gender you are, whatever your sexual preference, whoever it is that you want to wrap their arms around you at the end of the night, being wanted – being loved – is universal," said executive producer Lorraine Charker-Phillips.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, she explained that Channel 4's groundbreaking HIV/AIDS drama It's A Sin helped inspire her and fellow executive producer Simon Dickson to bring "better representation" into dating series.

Having previously worked on Five Guys A Week, "we felt that this format could do more to explore topics around gender and sexuality by broadening out", she explained.

"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."

The show's announcement follows an ITV commissioner's statement that "it goes without saying that [ITV] want to encourage greater inclusivity and diversity,” but that including gay contestants in Love Island presents “a logistical difficulty”.

In a RadioTimes.com exclusive, ITV's Amanda Stavri said, "In terms of gay Islanders, I think the main challenge is regarding the format of Love Island. There’s a sort of logistical difficulty, because although Islanders don’t have to be 100 per cent straight, the format must sort of give [the] Islanders an equal choice when coupling up."

Stravi continued, “With our dating shows, such as The Cabins, there is much more sexual diversity. The formats don’t have as much restrictions as Love Island. So we’re very sort of mindful of that across our programming on ITV and dating series. But that’s the difficulty with Love Island.”

Label1's Simon Dickson, executive producer of Five Dates A Week, said the show's inclusive line-up isn't to "score Brownie Points" but to provide viewers with a "more exciting... thought-provoking watch".

He said, "It’s important to point out that we aren’t doing this to score brownie points. When I ran First Dates, stories that didn’t conform to mainstream stereotypes always 'popped' in the cutting room – like exploding lightbulbs. They had a wild, irresistible magic that made the programmes a more exciting, stimulating, and thought-provoking watch."

He continued, "Those daters’ stories are often the most memorable and deserve to be told with equal esteem to any other. Anyone who has ever had to hide their sexuality from their disapproving parents knows what it’s like to emerge blinking into the light. That’s what we are trying to capture with our new series. The potential joy that lies ahead when those awkward conversations are a thing of the past."

Anyone who wants to apply to be in the series, either as a “picker” or as one of the people the “picker” selects from, can visit Channel 4’s “Take Part” website or email dating@label1.tv

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