''God's Gift'' was a British
dating game show
Dating game shows are game shows that incorporates a variety of matchmaking systems and services in the form of a game with clear rules. Human matchmaking is involved only in selecting the game's contestants, who are usually selected more for the ...
that aired on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
from 4 January 1996 to 3 April 1998. The first series was presented by
Davina McCall
Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's '' ...
and
Claudia Winkleman
Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...
hosted the second series. The show's title came from the phrase "God's gift to women", i.e. an
ironic
Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into ...
description of a would-be
Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
.
Format
Each week, five male contestants would vie with each other to win the affections and votes of a female audience (or a male audience on "gay specials") by participating in a series of facetious games designed to "test" their
sex appeal
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, o ...
. The winner's prize would be to take an audience member of his choice out on a date, which was then filmed for broadcast in the following week's show.
Broadcast
The series was broadcast in the early hours of a Thursday morning and was usually repeated in the early hours of Sunday morning on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, although not every region took the series. The second series was axed after fewer regions decided to broadcast it.
Series guide
*Series 1: 50 editions including 2 best of compilations, first shown from 3 January 1996
*Series 2: 25 editions, first shown from 26 July 1997
External links
*
*
1996 British television series debuts
1998 British television series endings
1990s British game shows
English-language television shows
ITV game shows
Television series by ITV Studios
Television shows produced by Granada Television
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