Celebrate love with First Dates Valentine’s (Channel 4, 10pm)

It’s the most romantic date in the calendar, so where to better to spend it than in the First Dates restaurant, as Fred Sirieix and the staff serve up a Valentine’s special?

The first diner to be seated is ‘clubbing queen’ Amanda who usually finds that men are bit too keen, too soon. Will former club rep Ryan take a liking to her without coming on too strong?

Businessman Brendan is no stranger to dates – the 48 year old thinks he’s been on around a thousand of them, and has invested a lot of time and money in his attempts to find love.

It initially seems that all that experience is paying off when he bonds with Swedish cakemaker Agneta over their shared love of singing and ballet. But will asking her questions about her choice of underwear and toothbrushing habits prove a little too personal for a first date?

We’re also introduced to Annie, who works in recruitment – which may be why she decided it was wise to call in the specialists in her attempts to find the perfect man. Now 42, she had an arranged marriage at an early age and has been out of the dating game for a decade. Can 50-year-old Dave encourage her to open up and show the vulnerable side beneath her glamorous image?

Finally, special effect make-up artist Erin gets plenty of attention on Instagram, but many of her suitors disappear when she mentions her cerebral palsy. Will chef Andrew prove that he has the recipe for a lasting romance?

Perhaps one of the reasons the singletons have decided to take a chance on First Dates is that it’s proved to be one of the sweetest dating shows on TV. While others have sometimes felt like they were more interested in making viewers laugh – or cringe – then helping the participants to find love, First Dates wears its heart on its sleeve.

In fact, Siriex has previously said that if he was in the market for a date, he’d give the show a whirl: “Why not? At least you know you’re in the right hands. People who care and will do all they can to get you matched with the right person. That’s what we do.”

It also explains why he’s still putting in an appearance now, even though his own TV career has taken off over the past few years. When he’s not in the restaurant, he’s made a string of travel documentaries with Gordon Ramsay and Gino D’Acampo, hosted the series Snackmasters and Remarkable Place to Eat, and even cropped up on Celebrity Gogglebox.

But it seems First Dates still has a special place in his heart. He told Huffington Post: “What I’m [most] proud of is the stories and how real it is. Whenever you watch it, it makes you feel good, it makes you smile. It’s not set up, it’s not for the cameras, it’s real and it’s very true.”