Just hours after the full Celebs Go Dating line up for the late 2021 series was announced, former agency sign up Joshua Ritchie has publicly begged them for “more help” in his love life.
The upcoming series will see the likes of TOWIE’s Chloe Brockett, Made in Chelsea’s Miles Nazaire and controversial MAFS star Nikita Jasmin look for love on a series of dates set up by professional dating coaches Paul Carrick-Brunson and Anna Williamson.
But as long term fans of the show will know, there’s usually two bombshell daters that enter the show after the start date and Josh – who’s currently starring on MTV’s Ex in the City with Arabella Chi and Demi Sims – might well just be one.
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On a post from the official Celebs Go Dating Instagram welcoming this year’s singles to the agency, Josh wrote, “[Any] chance of you lot giving me some more help? 😂😂😂”.
Josh has appeared on the show twice before – firstly with his then girlfriend Charlotte Crosbyas part of the agents’ foray into couples counselling, and then again two series later when he signed up as a single just two weeks after their messy split in 2019.
At the time, Charlotte was heartbroken by how quickly Josh had moved on, after he reportedly promised her that he wouldn’t sign up.
Taking to her own social media from a Dubai sun lounger – where she’d flown for a post-break up holiday with her best pal and Geordie Shore co-star Sophie Kasaei – Charlotte fumed, “So bit of a revelation today.
“I am shocked to say the least but when you are sitting in Dubai and you find out your ex-boyfriend who you didn’t think was like this at all is going on Celebs Go Dating.”
CHECK OUT: Forbidden CGD couples
Forbidden CGD couples slider
1 of 12Stephanie Pratt and Joey Essex in series 1
When the show was just a little bitty baby in 2016, Stephanie and Joey were its first ever forbidden celeb couple. Then dating expert Nadia Essex certainly made her feelings known as later Steph told us, "I try to block out bad memories, but she didn't accept that Joey and I were dating. She was evil to me when I was dating Joey, on and off camera."She was flirting with Joey."
2 of 12Eden Blackman and Chanel Sadie Paul in series 2
So this was QUITE the scandal at the time. Then dating coach Eden ended up hooking up with one of the civilian daters, Chanel, a Kim Kardashian lookalike who was brought in to date IRL Kim's best mate Jonathan Cheban (awks). It all crumbled though when Chanel found out he'd been two timing her and shared the messages online.
3 of 12Charlotte Dawson and Frankie Cocozza in series 3
She might be settled down with a baby on the way now, but back in 2017 Charlotte looked to the dating agents to find her love with a civilian. Instead, she found a "genuine connection" with disgraced X Factor star Frankie, before accusing him of using her for air time. The pair no longer speak.
4 of 12Tallia Storm and Seb Morris on series 4
Ok, ok, so not STRICTLY a forbidden romance, but Tallia and Seb were the OG exes on the show (to be extremely outshone by Pete Wicks and Megan McKenna two series later) and it was SO CLEAR when the agents had them in a room together that there was still LOADS of chemistry between them.
5 of 12Olivia Attwood and Sam Craske in series 5
Love Island's Olivia certainly had options on the show, reportedly hooking up with Ibiza Weekender's Callum Izzard,too. But it was Diversity Dancer and Jesy Nelson's ex Sam who she attended the final with, and fans were overjoyed at the union.
6 of 12Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks in series 6
Easily the most enduring love affair to have come from the show, Pete and Sam each met their soulmates in each other in series six and are still the best of friends today (even if their relationship does revolve around Pete ripping into Sam).
7 of 12Jack Fincham and Lauren Goodger in series 7
These two Essex natives seem like the perfect match on paper, which is why we were gutted not to see more of their relationship play out. TOWIE's Lauren dropped some major hints she'd been getting intimate with the Love Island winner, but later left the agency early to focus on herself.
8 of 12Megan Barton Hanson and Demi Sims in series 7
After breaking up with her Love Island boyfriend Wes Nelson, Megan admitted she was bi-sexualand on CGD dated both guys and girls. She hit it off with TOWIE's Demi and the two ended the series trying to make a go of it, but it wasn't to last.
9 of 12Josh Ritchie and Olivia Bentley on series 8
Made in Chelsea's poshest export Liv joined the agency looking for a bit of rough and found it in newly single Josh Ritchie, who'd just split from Charlotte Crosby. The pair were photographed snogging at a party and they both admitted to fancying each other.
10 of 12James Lock and Alison Hammond on series 8
Liv was also briefly linked to TOWIE's James but we much preferred the rumours about a romance with daytime telly hun Alison."I fell in love with James Lock on the show. This Greek God," she said at the time. "He did say one thing to me, he actually said, 'Alison you're my perfect girlfriend, personality-wise'."I was absolutely devastated. So I went to the gym and worked out. So personality-wise I'm his perfect girl!"
11 of 12Pete Wicks and Shaughna Phillips in series 9
The celebs might have to maintain a safe distance for 2020's virtual series, but that didn't stop Pete and Love Island's Shaughna hitting it off. She denied any romance but admitted, "Anna and Paul have actually said to me that they think me and Pete are alike in the sense that we kind of go along with things to be nice."That could be a perfect chemistry… He's probably not my type on paper, but he's lovely."
12 of 12Tom Zanetti and Sophie Hermann
Despite Celebs Go Dating the Mansion being rife with rumours of celeb pairings, it was superstar DJ Tom Zanetti and Made in Chelsea heiress Sophie Hermann who made a go of things. Viewers watched the pair flirt their way through the series before finally being set up on a date by Pau and Anna, with Anna telling Closer exclusively that "if a celeb starts to gravitate toward another celebrity, it is something we explore but we also try and keep them on the path of dating regular folk as well."
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She continued, “Not going to lie, but at one point we were on the verge of getting back and I was asked to go on but obviously I said no I would never do that, we have only just finished, we lived together, we were in a two year relationship and it is just wrong.
“And his words to me were ‘do you think I would ever do that?’. And to find out he is doing it, wow, just f--king wow, that is all I have to say.”
“People must just get with us so that to get opportunities like that. I tell you what, don’t f--king mention my name once on that show , don’t even f--king speaking about me, you f--king little toe rag. It just goes to show really,” she added.
Speaking to Closer earlier this month while promoting Ex in the City,Josh owned up to his problematic relationship history, saying of his time filming, “It’s a long, awkward experience.
“Sometimes there’s some skeletons in the closet and it really tells you how much of a tw-t you are. Realistically you already know it but it’s nice being told that every now and again.”