The Undateables is a British reality television series that follows a range of people on dates who have long term conditions, including: disabilities, developmental disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, and learning difficulties. The series worked in conjunction with the dating agency, Flame Introductions, and was broadcast on Channel 4. Fifty-three main episodes aired since the documentary first aired on 3 April 2012, split into 11 separate series. The documentary has been narrated by Sally Phillips throughout.

The Undateables
GenreReality
Voices ofSally Phillips
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series11
No. of episodes53 (to 9 April 2020)
Production
Production companyBetty
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release3 April 2012 (2012-04-03) –
9 April 2020 (2020-04-09)

Transmissions

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Series Start date End date Episodes
1 3 April 2012 17 April 2012 3
2 8 January 2013 5 February 2013 5
3 9 January 2014 30 January 2014 4
4 5 January 2015 2 February 2015 5
5 4 January 2016 1 February 2016 5
6 2 January 2017 30 January 2017 5
7 11 September 2017 9 October 2017 5
8 21 December 2017 29 January 2018 5
9 10 September 2018 18 December 2018 5
10 9 January 2019 17 December 2019 6
11 11 March 2020 9 April 2020 5

Episodes

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Series 1

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Luke & Lucy 3 April 2012
2 Justin & Shaine 10 April 2012
3 Hadyn & Sam 17 April 2012

Series 2

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Michael, Brent & Sarah 8 January 2013
2 Sam, Ray & Steve 15 January 2013
3 Kate, Damian & Oliver 22 January 2013
4 Heather, Gareth & Matthew 29 January 2013
5 The Undateables – Revisit 5 February 2013

Series 3

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Mary, Daniel & Hayley 9 January 2014
2 John, Ruth & Zoe 16 January 2014
3 Michael, Ray, Brent, Kate & Steve 23 January 2014
4 Sam, Shaine, Richard & Justin 30 January 2014

Series 4

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Alex, Matthew & Daniella 5 January 2015
2 Tim, Ali & Alec 12 January 2015
3 Richard, Chris & Christina 19 January 2015
4 Ruth, Daniel & Michael Revisited 26 January 2015
5 Two Weddings and a Baby 2 February 2015

Series 5

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Episode Title Original air date
1 James, Tammy & Tom 4 January 2016
2 James, Lucas & Tom 11 January 2016
3 George, David & Bethany 18 January 2016
4 Holiday Romance 25 January 2016
5 Wedding Bells 1 February 2016

Series 6

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Sam, Kate & Ian 2 January 2017
2 Eddie, Lily & Pani 9 January 2017
3 Jamie, Luke & Lizzie 16 January 2017
4 Shaine, Alex & Ray 23 January 2017
5 Richard, James, Tom & Daniel 30 January 2017

Series 7

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Jason, Souleyman & Charley 11 September 2017
2 Kaia, Rhys & Joshua 18 September 2017
3 Sam, Katy & Donovan 25 September 2017
4 Richard, Lizzie, Eddie & Sam 2 October 2017
5 Shaine, Lily, Ray & George 9 October 2017

Series 8

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Daniel, Shaine, Ray & Sam 21 December 2017
2 Luke, Sam & Becky 8 January 2018
3 Nisar, Daniel & Fatima 15 January 2018
4 Amber, Richard & Nick 22 January 2018
5 Alex, Jason & Tom 29 January 2018

Series 9

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Charlotte, Mitch & James 10 September 2018
2 Rory, Roland & Molly 17 September 2018
3 Jordan, Paige & Sam 24 September 2018
4 Ray, Jason & Luke Revisit 1 October 2018
5 Christmas: A Festive Proposal 18 December 2018

Series 10

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Michael, Tobi & Emily 9 January 2019
2 Tom, Esther & Thomas 16 January 2019
3 Ray, Becky, Shaine & James 23 January 2019
4 Daniel, Rhys, Richerd, Rory 30 January 2019
5 Francesco, Feron & Alex 13 March 2019
6 The Undateables at Christmas 2019 17 December 2019

Series 11

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Episode Title Original air date
1 Nicholas, Sam and Shantae 11 March 2020
2 Sam, Jodie and Hannah 18 March 2020
3 Rory, Lily, Jordan and Nicholas 25 March 2020
4 Charlotte, Richard, Alex and Sam 1 April 2020
5 Michael and Zena 9 April 2020

Additional episodes

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Title Duration
Extra: What We Learnt About Love 4 minutes
Extra: A Guide to Dating 4 minutes

Controversy

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Early controversy was generated from newspapers such as The Mirror and The Guardian, due to the word "undateable" being used in the title to describe people with mental and physical disabilities. Channel 4 claimed that the title of the series is based upon society's preconceptions of these people.[1] The Undateables faced significant backlash from doctors who branded the show "offensive" and "exploitative".[citation needed] Dr. Rachael Pickering said that the series had left her "disturbed at being part of a society that might seek to view disabled people as a source of comedy". She also spoke with the BMA (British Medical Association) annual representatives about the danger of patients being exploited by the TV documentary.[2] In an interview with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning, two stars of the then-upcoming fifth series, Tammy and James, responded to the assertions, with Tammy stating that she found it "quite insulting" that she "would be exploited in any way." She added, "Just because I’m disfigured, I’m not stupid."[3]

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Nominee(s) Result
2014 BAFTA Television Award[4] TV Programme of the Year The Undateables Nominated
2017 Diversity in Media Awards TV Programme of the Year The Undateables Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Ryan, Frances (2 April 2012). "The Undateables? Disability rights, but Channel 4 wrongs". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  2. ^ McGeorge, Alistair (24 June 2015). "The Undateables branded 'offensive' and exploitative by doctors". mirror. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  3. ^ Kitchener, Shaun (4 January 2016). "'It's insulting' The Undateables stars rubbish 'exploitation' claims ahead of new series". Daily Express. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Bafta TV awards 2014: Winners in full". BBC News. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
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