{"id":657936,"date":"2026-08-26T19:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/657936\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T19:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:13:14","slug":"maura-higgins-confirmed-as-host-of-blind-date-reboot-%c2%b7-thejournal-ie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/657936\/","title":{"rendered":"Maura Higgins confirmed as host of Blind Date reboot \u00b7 TheJournal.ie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FORMER LOVE ISLAND CONTESTANT Maura Higgins is set to host a new version of the classic British TV series Blind Date.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Streaming on\u00a0Disney+, the show\u00a0will follow the original format where a contestant must choose between three mystery potential suitors, hidden from view behind a sliding wall.<\/p>\n<p>The series, which also promises to contain some \u201cformat twists\u201d, will film at a secret location.<\/p>\n<p>Higgins (35) rose to fame on the\u00a02019 series of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/love-island-irish-contestants-7101130-Jul2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Love Island<\/a> and has been busy ever since through social media influencing and appearing on a variety of TV shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, she made waves across the Atlantic, starring in the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/she-ate-that-maura-higgins-turns-heads-at-golden-globes-with-red-carpet-look-evoking-old-hollywood-6923899-Jan2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> US version<\/a> of The Traitors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Longford native has also signed up for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/maura-higgins-lands-a-spot-on-dancing-with-the-stars-us-7021495-Apr2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">upcoming series<\/a> of Dancing With The Stars in the US.<\/p>\n<p>    <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@wwhl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen<\/a> \/ YouTube<\/p>\n<p>Angela Jain, head of content at Disney+ said \u201cMaura is the perfect match for our version of Blind Date\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer distinctive straight-talking humour, coupled with her experience as a reality dating show contestant, means we know she has the gravitas plus the wit to bring Blind Date to new audiences\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Disney + announced the casting on social media with the caption,\u00a0\u201dBlind Date host, what\u2019s your name and where d\u2019ya come from?\u201d It\u2019s\u2026 Maura Higgins\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787771594_77_.jpeg\"  alt=\"IMG_8547 2\" class=\"alignnone inline-image\" \/><br \/>\n                                @disneyplusuk<\/p>\n<p>    @disneyplusuk\n<\/p>\n<p>Blind Date originally aired in the UK from 1985 to 2003, famously hosted by singer Cilla Black.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was last revived in 2017, with Paul O\u2019Grady quizzing the romantic hopefuls.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to US outlet Bustle about her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejournal.ie\/maura-higgins-lands-a-spot-on-dancing-with-the-stars-us-7021495-Apr2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Dancing With the Stars <\/a>announcement, Higgins suggested the show could be her final appearance as a contestant.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Dancing With The Stars, I think I\u2019m probably done. I mean, never say never \u2026 but it\u2019s the only other show on my vision board, contestant-wise\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Higgins will now take on hosting duties, with filming for Blind Date happening later this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With additional reporting by PA\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORMER LOVE ISLAND CONTESTANT Maura Higgins is set to host a new version of the classic British TV&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[75],"tags":[235115,1887,18,117,19,17,278058,100329,1445,1238],"class_list":["post-657936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-blind-date","tag-disney","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-longford-lady","tag-maura-higgins","tag-reality-tv","tag-television"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}