TV matchmaker Fred Sirieix on how to pull off the perfect first date

New year, new partner? Cuffing season is in full swing, and love expert, maître d’ and TV favourite Fred Sirieix knows a thing or two about romance. After years of bringing hopeful singles together on First Dates, he’s seen exactly what flirty moves work, which chat-up lines don’t, and what can make sparks fly from the moment a couple first meet.

Now, Fred is turning up the heat with his brand-new series, First Dates Beach Club, where sun, sea and sizzling chemistry set the scene for a new gang of sweltering singles.

Shortlist sat down with Fred to talk dating dos and don’ts, confidence, connection – and why finding love might just be easier with sand between your toes…

Looking For Love In The Sun | First Dates Beach Club | Channel 4 - YouTube

Watch On

Shortlist: Hey Fred! So this time you’re trading a London restaurant for a Mediterranean beach club. What’s the biggest lesson dating under the sun teaches us that a rainy UK date never does?

Fred Sirieix: The difference between dating under the sun is that you're away from home, work, you are away from children and responsibility. When you are going away you concentrate on you, your date and what you are here to do together so I think its much better.

SL: What’s the funniest or most surprising thing you’ve seen happen when dates get a little too relaxed by the pool?

FS: It's just fun to watch when you set up a date with someone and they are looking at someone at the bar and suddenly they think they have a connection with that someone at the bar and they pursue. That bit of an interaction, be it eye contact or a smile, and they just want to meet them. So that's really quite fun, if not funny or surprising, because it just throws everything up in the air.

SL: Is it better to bond over a sunset spritz or a sunrise coffee after a late night? And why?

FS: Well, at the end of the day, what matters is to bond. It's not about when or how you bond. Bonding and connecting with people is what's important.

SL: What’s the one non-negotiable etiquette tip you’d give anyone heading into their first date?

FS: Eye contact, very important, and a warm smile. The thing with eye contact is to smile and say hello to people before they smile and say hello to you. It's your job to be charming, and it's your job to be charming first, and to give first. That's very, very important, because if you don't give first, why do you expect people to give to you? So that's the way it's got to be.

I think that when you go on the date, first of all, you've got to be excited. It's exciting, and you've got to be interested to meet somebody else and to ask questions, and you want to be interesting yourself. And look after them! You know, appreciate them, respect them, and get excited. Get to know them.

SL: What’s one question you wish everyone would ask on a first date — instead of ‘What do you do?’ — that really reveals something?

FS: I don't know if there's one question. I think that every date is different, and I think you've got to go with the flow and go with the person that's in front of you, so you can't just have one question. It's like, you know, these kinds of chat up lines and things like that. I don't like that. I think that every individual is an individual, and therefore you should treat them as such. So I leave it up to you to decide what is a good line to start.

SL: And on the flipside to that, what should people absolutely avoid saying on a first date?

FS: What should people avoid saying on the first date... Well, it's the first date. You don't have to tell them everything about you. I think that you know, like everything you know, it's about timing, and if you have something important to say, you've got to choose the moment. You got to make sure it's the right thing to do, not only for you, but for them, and for what you want to do. But at the end of the day, if you are with the right person, you can and should be able to say and do anything, because they've got your back and you got their back, and they trust you and you trust them.

• From situationships to ghosting: Six dating dos and don’ts from an expert, so you don’t have to ask ChatGPT

Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!