Celebs Go Dating guru Anna Willamson has opened up exclusively to Closer about thenext series of Celebs Go Datingand we’re already excited.
Speaking from her home on our Instagram live today, Anna admitted that while things are up in the air at the moment, she’s hoping we can have the next series go ahead as planned.
“We are absolutely in talks for series nine, though no one ever knows, until we’ve signed that contract, no one knows [what’s happening]. Before lockdown, the wheels were in motions for kicking off series nine,” she said.
“Lots of people’s jobs have been furloughed or just gone, mine included. But all going well, I’d like to think we get another series to watch this year.”
Music to our ears.
CHECK OUT: Celebs Go Dating's most outrageous moments
Celebs Go Dating most outrageous moments - SLIDER use this one
1 of 36The fall of Stephen Bear
After a few episodes of Stephen Bear acting as Stephen Bear-ish as it's possible to act, Nadia and Eden decided they'd had enough and chucked him out the agency. Good riddance.
2 of 36Stephen Bear asks for threesome
Speaking of Stephen Bear, remember when he asked those twins for a threesome? Good lord.
3 of 36Stephen Bear
Now we think about it, everything Stephen Bear did was outrageous. Poor blue lips...
4 of 36Joey Essex's burpy date
Some poor old girl who managed to score a date with Joey Essex ended up burping on his face throughout the entire thing. What a nightmare.
5 of 36Jonathan Cheban dates Kimmy K lookalike
This just couldn't have been more classic, could it? Things (obviously) didn't work out, and Kim Kardashian lookalike Chanelle Sadie Paul ended up having an alleged sordid affair with dating agent Eden Blackman. But that's a whole other story...
6 of 36Gemma Collins stands up poor old Laurence :(
Gemma Collins successfully managed to anger the entire nation after failing to turn up to the Eurostar for her Parisian date with Laurence.
7 of 36Joey Essex dates a cougar...
She wanted to dress him as a pony, for some reason.
8 of 36... and Calum Best dates a cougar
He looks like he had a wonderful time.
9 of 36Frankie Cocozza and Charlotte Dawson break the rules and date each other
They were the first celebrity couple to hook up with each other on the show. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. And Frankie is now happily married to someone else.
10 of 36Their double date ends in awks
Both Frankie and Charlotte's dates ended up walking out of the double date set up by the agents after they couldn't stop gushing about the other.
11 of 36And then MARRIED EACH OTHER
Yes, this is a real thing that actually happened and the snubbed dates, Kieran Patel and Katie Champ are still together.
12 of 36Charlotte Dawson bum massage
Charlotte Dawson made an impression (of sorts) on one of her first dates by giving a bum massage in a busy pub. Not sure where that lotion came from.
13 of 36Calum Best stands his date up
Calum got in hot water with the dating agents after failing to show up to one of his dates.
14 of 36Gemma Collins storms out of date after he called her 'a diva'
She got up an left like a diva after he called her, er, 'a diva'. Well, she did show up about an hour late...
15 of 36Charlotte Crosby spits milk during her date
Playing hot sauce roulette on a first date was never going to end well...
16 of 36Jorgie Porter's date wants to see her on the loo
After telling her that he'd Googled her before the date, Jorgie's date casually mentioned he'd like to watch her on the toilet. Wow.
17 of 36Courtney Stodden's date gets x-rated
Courtney Stodden shocked viewers after getting her date to rub sun cream on her chest.
18 of 36Charlotte Crosby dates a massive sexist
When Charlotte told Jeavon (who also dated Love Island's Malin Andersson) that she'd slept with 20 men, he said: "that is bad, for a lad it's not that bad." Despite the fact he claimed to have slept with 50.
19 of 36Joey Essex and Stephanie Pratt find love with each other
They broke the rules, but was it worth it? Erm. Probably not, no. Because it lasted about two minutes.
20 of 36Ferne McCann refuses to split the bill
After ordering a frankly humungous amount of food, Ferne didn't offer to help pay the bill at the end of the date. She later burst into tears in the dating agency after the guy gave her a bad review for not doing so.
21 of 36Tom Read Wilson admits he doesn't know who Kim Kardashian is
But... how?
22 of 36Megan McKenna and Pete Wicks reunion
Megan and Pete had a notoriously rocky relationship on TOWIE, so putting them on the same series was a stroke of TV GENIUS.
23 of 36Kerry Katona's rude date
When Kerry Katona's date implied her children had been a "mistake", she handled it like a pro – but the nation watched from between their fingers.
24 of 36Jack Fincham and the Waitress
Jack Fincham was set up with a lovely girl called Carol by the agents, but admitted by the end he wasn't feeling it. Instead he got the barmaid's number, and ended up taking her to the final in Tenerife.
25 of 36Jack Fincham's first date
Jack Fincham abruptly ended the date he wasn't feeling by telling his date he was "tired" and had "had enough", before demanding she finish her glass of wine en route to the door.
26 of 36Jack Fincham's second date
He then got set up with an Italian called Chiara, but quickly took offense when she made a joke about one of the bartenders, calling them over and insisting she'd rather be on a date with them, instead.
27 of 36Lee Ryan gets pied
Ha! Ha, ha ha.
28 of 36Lady C's sexual innuendos
Just like narrator Rob Beckett said, the woman is an absolute SAUCE POT - just check out her traffic light analogy. Blimey.
29 of 36Malique Thompson-Dwyer's 'predatory' flirting
After getting slammed by viewers for his 'predatory' flirting at the first mixer, Malique offended one of his dates when he was forced to date two women at the same time, and made his preference for Jakeeme clear - with Danica storming off as a result. awks.
30 of 36Tom's birth affirmations
Anna Williamson is heavily pregnant in series eight and so lovable receptionist Tom devises some birth affirmations in case her waters break at work - "which could happen", points out Anna.
31 of 36Amy Childs showed her deep and intellectual side...
When she asked her date, "If you were a sandwich, what would you be?"
32 of 36Malique ACTUALLY fell in love!
And then immediately fell out of it the following morning, after he "had sex all night" with his date, Jakeeme. He was - quite rightfully - told off by Anna and Paul.
33 of 36Liv Bentley walked out on her date
He was "late, stand-offish and entirely humourless" (fair), but his incessant talk of "pumping" was the final straw for Liv, who left halfway through (also fair).
34 of 36But he was totally convinced she was into him
Despite Liv doing a runner in the middle of their drinks, self-confident Otto was still convinced Liv fancied him and accused her of making "f-ck me eyes" across the table. CRINGE.
35 of 36Amy Childs' toilet 'romp' with Jamie
Does this take the biscuit for CGD's most outrageous moment? During a double date with Olivia Bentley, Amy STRADDLED her date in the restaurant before scuttling off to the toilets, returning later looking dishevelled. They claimed to have only kissed... but we weren't born yesterday, hun.
36 of 36Paul Carrick Brunson QUITS
Just days after Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion came to end, love guru Paul Carrick Brunson seemingly revealed he's quit the show after a behind the scenes bust-up with one of the show's 'disrespectful' celebs. We need to know more ASAP.
WATCH: Amy Hart reveals texts with Amber Gill on watching Love Island 'knowing how it all works'
Letting us in on all things CGD, Anna certainly wanted to know that none of what we see on our screens is scripted, saying, “There is nothing, nothing, nothing that is fabricated.
“It’s an enormous team that works on it. It’s really genuine.
“We set up the scenarios but what the talent decide to do within that remit is up to them. Often we will say ‘don’t get drunk, don’t drink too much,’ but they do anyway. They all drink a lot, a hell of a lot.
“We aren’t going to sit there nannying them – they’re grown ups and they can do what they want. But that said, we do have a duty of care. It’s a reality show, and as with all reality shows the duty of care on Celebs Go Dating is absolutely phenomenal.”
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And answering the age-old question – why don’t any of the couples work out? – Anna was quick to insists that that’s not entirely the case.
“The celebs are really busy and have really busy lives difficult for non celebs to keep up with,” she said.
“I’m not saying it’s a hard life, but it is a busy one, and it can be very difficult where there’s distance involved and busy work commitments.
“A lot of them do work out though, I promise you.”
And Anna says that her incredible on-screen chemistry with fellow dating expert, Paul Carrick-Brunson, and agency receptionist Tom Read Wilson extends to the real world too, saying, “We have a Whatsapp group called Team PAT – Paul, Anna, Tom.
“And Tom does speak like that, he literally does! He is not an act, that is 100% him.”