No second date for James

TV SHOW Canningstown lass next to try her luck with love

Sparks seemed to fly on the big screen last week as a Cavan man looked for love through a television show.

First Dates featured James Donohoe (27), a presenter with Ooosch, a giveaway show based in the Breffni County.

James appeared on the show with his friend, flirty Stephen (28) from Athlone, in a combined bid to impress feisty Jade (26) from Newry and self-confessed ‘cheeky monkey’ Siobhan (24) from Mayo.

The show began with James and Stephen sitting at the bar, awaiting the arrival of their dates. However, when both ladies arrived, it quickly became clear both boys had eyes for Siobhán. The couples were then split up, James delighted to be coupled with Siobhán.

Viewers watched as James and Siobhán hit it off, talking about their love of pool and baby guinness with plenty of flirtatious banter.

When producers asked James if he felt there was “girlfriend potential” with Siobhan, he replied: “There definitely is, yeah.”

Although the couple agreed to a second date at the end, TV viewers might be surprised to learn this never happened.

James explained: “It was filmed so long ago that I nearly forgot what happened. My life is so different now.

“The show was filmed in August but I applied for it in April and found out I was on at the end of April.”

It seems Cupid struck off camera during the Summer. “A week or two before the show [was recorded], I met the girl who I am now going out with,” James further explained.

When asked how he managed the awkward conversation with his current girlfriend, James laughed: “I was honest with her, I told her this show was coming up, I told her from the day we met that I had to do this so we just kept things nice and casual. I went on the show, I wanted to give it my all and give it a chance and see if anything would come of it.

We went on the date and, even though I had a lovely time with Siobhan, I can’t fault her, she’s a lovely girl, I liked the girl that I was seeing beforehand and I couldn’t date two girls.”

Speaking to the Celt regarding the airing of the show last week, James admitted: “It was good. It was obviously weird watching it back on Thursday,” he said, explaining he watched his date back for the first time with the rest of the nation.

“It was a little bit awkward watching it now with another girl and she had to watch me go full on flirting with somebody back in August but obviously she understood.”

Canningstown girl also to appear on show

While First Dates can’t be credited with James finding his soulmate, a second Cavan contestant is set to hit the big screen in the coming weeks.

Chloe Martin (22) from Canningstown also features in the show, the airing date for her date has yet to be confirmed.

Asked what inspired her to apply for First Dates, the hairdresser explained: “I was like - Let’s just do it, see what happens, just for the fun of it. If anything comes from it, cool; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. It’ll just be a fun experience to have and to tell people about.”

Chloe’s friends were amused when they heard about her appearance on the show.

“They were like, ‘Chloe, we’re not surprised. That is the most “you” thing to do. It just makes sense.’”

Throughout her interview, Chloe was conscious not to reveal too much information regarding her date as she is bound by a confidentiality clause until the programme is broadcast.

However, she told the Celt she wasn’t as nervous as she had been expecting.

“I thought I’d have some nerves or something. I just thought ‘okay, what’s going to be is going to be. I’ll just play it by ear and see how it goes.’”

Blind dates may seem daunting to many on the best of days, however with the added pressure of cameras, the Celt wondered how one could remain calm.

“It was chill enough, which surprised me a little bit to be honest. When the cameras were on me I felt like, ‘ahh they’re watching my every move’, but then they were quite discrete as well so I couldn’t really see them, you kind of forget they’re there after while once you’re in the middle of the conversation, so it wasn’t too bad.”