Going On The Undateables Taught Me I Don't Need To Be Terrified Of Dating

If I can take anything away from being on the show I would say it has given me the confidence to go out and enjoy dating. Rather than being terrified of it. I don't know what the future holds for Tanya and I, but if nothing else, I've make a new friend.

Growing up with brittle bones never seemed a hardship for me, despite having broken over 80 bones throughout my life, because I have the only two important things you need in life - a loving family and an amazing group of friends.

Please don't tell them I'm paying them compliments because I'll never hear the end of it. They have always encouraged me and had my back when I needed it.

I don't think I could be blamed for wanting to wrap myself up in bubble wrap and never leave the house. But the way I look at it is, you only get one shot at this life. I'm not about to waste it by missing out on the fun times just in case I break a bone.

Broken bones heal. Missed opportunities and memories are something you can never get back. I'm not reckless but I always live by the motto "What's the worst that can happen?" And in the case of quad biking, the worst that can happen is a LOT of broken bones! That's something I won't be trying again.

I applied to go on The Undateables quite by chance. Doing the job that I do means that I get to travel around the world on a regular basis. Yes, it is awesome!

During a trip to Basel in Switzerland I was bored one night in my hotel and an advert to apply for the show popped up on my social media. I had nothing better to do so I thought I'd apply.

I have to confess, I'd never actually seen an episode of the show before. I had heard of it and knew what it was about but had never actually seen a full episode. To be honest, I never thought I'd ever hear back from them.

A week or so went by and I got a phone call from the show. From then on, everything kind of just snowballed and here I am now.

I have always been quite bad at chatting up girls. Don't get me wrong, during college and university, I had my share of fun. I'm not a completely hopeless case, but nothing ever progressed into a relationship.

After university I had my heart broken quite badly. I fell madly for someone who didn't feel the same. As anyone who has been through that will agree, it sucks big time. After that happened I kind of just stopped looking. With the beauty of hindsight though, I'm glad nothing did happen then because I would never be in the place in life that I am now and I've got to say, my life is pretty great.

It was only when I moved down towards London that I decided it was time to go out and find a girlfriend. As all of my friends are married, engaged or trying to raise babies. I never really go out 'on the pull' anymore. The times when I do get together with my friends, I'd much rather spend time with them.

I have tried all the usual dating apps without much success. It seems to me that as soon as they find out my height - I'm 4'11" - they run a mile. It seems that not many girls fancy a wee man.

I'm really glad the show introduced me to Tanya. My biggest fear about going on the show was completely freezing up and forgetting how to speak on the date. First dates are scary enough without having two cameras shoved in your face monitoring every move you make. And I certainly didn't want to make a cringeworthy, shambles of a show.

Luckily for me, Tanya and I got on, right from the start. We had such a lot in common and talked non-stop for the entire date, so thankfully, no awkward silences. Even to the point where the producers had to stop us talking to move us to the next location.

A few weeks after our first date, while on a work trip in Germany, I stacked over in a hotel and broke my leg and cracked my arm. I can't even blame beer for this one. I just wasn't looking where I was going. They had to put a plate in my leg which required quite a big operation. On the plus side, the German hospitals and surgeons were amazing.

After a week at home recovering, the show wanted to film our second date - a trip to the theatre to see The Lion King. Despite the broken bones I wasn't going to say no and the production team bent over backwards to help me out. I couldn't thank them enough. I had waited 17 years to see this musical. I wasn't going to let two broken bones and 65 stitches stop me!

Luckily Tanya and I had another great time together and The Lion King was amazing. Totally worth the wait. Oh, and I didn't cry... honest.

If I can take anything away from being on the show I would say it has given me the confidence to go out and enjoy dating. Rather than being terrified of it. I don't know what the future holds for Tanya and I, but if nothing else, I've make a new friend.

The Undateables transmits on Mondays at 9pm on Channel 4 and is also available on All4

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