When singleton Alex Tatham appeared on Cilla Black’s game show Blind Date in 1988, he had no idea he was about to meet the love of his life.
But fast forward 36 years and now Alex has renewed his wedding vows to ‘lucky number 2 Sue’ after a long happy marriage and two children, Emily and Charlie.
On Sunday, the couple returned to Michael & All Angels Church in Pelsall, West Midlands, where they first tied the knot 33 years ago in front of millions.
Alex, 59, and Sue, also 59, were the first Blind Date match to marry – and more than 17.5 people watched the wedding, while over 5,000 attended in person.
Reminiscing about the magical day in 1991 when he and Sue became ‘Britain’s first reality TV star couple’, Alex described his wife as being ‘as beautiful as ever.’
The devoted couple, who live in south London, met on Blind Date and enjoyed their first date at a medieval banquet in Ireland before marrying three years later.
Only three couples said ‘I do’ after meeting on the dating game show in its 18-year run but Alex and Sue’s was the first and most successful marriage.
Recalling the moment they met, Sue said: ‘I remember the TV show of course and we often watch it back all these years later. I was one of the three people hoping to be chosen and my legs were shaking.
‘We had to sit on these high stools and there was this big booming voice coming from the other side of the screen, which sounded charming and when the screen was removed my initial reaction was “box ticked” – he was quite fun and he enjoyed my answers so I knew we’d have a good time on the date.
‘When Alex asked me to marry him he also asked me to move to London and I said yes to both questions.
‘We have been blissfully happy and raised two wonderful children in Emily and Charlie who both got married themselves this year in beautiful ceremonies.’
Alex, who runs a management consultancy firm, remembered their first wedding as a ‘really exciting period’ and heaped praise on the late Black who was a guest at the ceremony.
He continued: ‘She was lovely and I thought that as soon as I saw her. You can see that. As we walked off the stage together, the first thing that happened was a sound engineer removed a mic from Sue’s bottom.
‘I said this is an extraordinary experience, I said let’s just make sure we get the very best out of it and be friends out of it.
‘I think that we probably realised we had some shared values at that point. We’re still going strong.
‘We’re extremely lucky to have each other. We’re still talking about it all these years later.’
Alex also said they often get recognised when they’re out together: ‘I’m surprised it still happens, 33 years later. All the time.’
Blind Date first aired on ITV in 1985 and was presented by Black until 2003 when she stunned viewers and bosses by quitting live on air.
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The beloved show was rebooted by Channel 5 in 2017 and was hosted by Paul O’Grady. It ended two years later.