Paul O'Grady had big boots to fill taking over from the legendary Cilla Black presenting a revamped version of the beloved 90s show Blind Date. So how did he do?
The new version of the show aired on Channel Five on Saturday night and fans took to social media in their droves to praise the 62-year-old host for keeping the fun and sparkle that Cilla was remembered for.
Paul O'Grady is making Cilla proud #blinddate
— zenon (@zenon2009) June 17, 2017
#BlindDate is back on C5 and it's already brilliant. Paul O'Grady is superb, as always!
— John Saleh Price (@JSPrice_media) June 17, 2017
Never an easy job taking over a TV classic from an incredible hostess. However, Paul O'Grady is brilliant. Enjoyable show #BlindDate
— Adam Salkie (@Adsalk) June 17, 2017
O'Grady previously said that Black's family urged him to host the show when he had doubts about taking over from his late friend.
"It was a shock at first when I heard the music, and they said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome your host, Paul O'Grady'," he told the Radio Times.
"I thought, 'This isn't right, it's so synonymous with Cilla. She should be here, not me'. I felt like I shouldn't be doing it. It was her show.
"But then I spoke to her sons and lots of people who knew her and they said, 'You have to do it, because she'd want you to do it for everyone'."
Black died suddenly in August 2015 from a head injury after a fall at her home in Spain. She was 72.
