5 Minutes with Fred Sirieix (First Dates Hotel)

As First Dates Hotel returns for another series, manager Fred Sirieix reflects on what was a joyful summer of love for its British singletons. And at a time like this, that hope is more important than ever, he tells Gemma Dunn.

Channel 4's First Dates Hotel is back, and the timing couldn't be better.

With sunshine breaks and cocktails a distant memory, another summer season of love - and a much-needed dose of la dolce vita - is surely just what the doctor ordered.

But will the singletons find love in the Italian heat? We find out more from returning manager, Fred Sirieix, 48.

How are you coping with the lockdown?

I woke up again today - and I'll tell you one thing, every morning I say to myself, 'I am happy to be alive'. I'm happy inside my head; I have happy thoughts. I'm lucky, nobody in my family has been affected, or my friends. I've got food on my table and when I go to the toilet, the toilet flushes and hot water actually runs - and a lot of people in this country and around the world don't have that luck.

You're always so busy, this must have been a real change of pace.

It makes me laugh when people say, 'Oh Fred, you've got to have more balance in your life'. I always say, 'I can't have balance because I either work or I don't work'. And if it's a project and it's exciting, I want to do it. And if there's another one, I want to do it as well. Right now there's no work, so the balance is either you do something, or you don't. But when everything starts again, it's probably going to all start in one go!

One show we're pleased to see back is First Dates Hotel.

Me too. It's just so joyous, and the nice thing about it is it can be very unexpected. [This series] two girls are meeting two guys on a date - they're with boys but they've been with girls before - and they actually fancy each other! It can only happen in the First Dates Hotel because people come and stay for a few days; if it were a restaurant, it wouldn't happen because it would focus on their date. The way they look at each other, incredible.

Do you find the singletons are more relaxed in the sun?

Yeah because when you go on holiday - I don't know if you've ever had a holiday romance - you don't have to worry about work or getting up, it's just about today and having fun. [This] is a bit like a nature programme, like David Attenborough, watching humans mating and their dance routine to seduce each other.

You're expanding with Teen First Dates, too. Is that going ahead after the lockdown?

Yeah, as soon as we're out of the lockdown. It's going to be good to see kids dating. Kids are very different, you know, some of them are shy and others are more confident, so it's going to be very interesting. But it's also about what they want: do they know what they want? Are they able to understand themselves and their own feelings? Are they able to convey what they think of somebody? Of course they're kids, so the approach will be very different; we have to be very careful, very nurturing and very protective of the daters.

What else would you like to tick off, when permitted?

Everything. The thing is, with the lockdown, I had a super exciting year ahead of me and now everything has been postponed, so I've got wait for 2021 or 2022. But on the other side of the coin, I get to spend more time with my kids, spend more time with my fruitcake [Sirieix's fiancee], and I'm enjoying that. I just worry about the world and how it's going to affect us going forward.

First Dates Hotel returns to Channel 4 on Thursday April 30.