The heartwarming hit dating show First Dates is moving its filming to Manchester.
Maître d’ Fred Sirieix and his team will be taking over a restaurant in the city to film the 16th series of the Channel 4 programme.
Past series have been filmed at the Paternoster Chop House in London, owned by restaurant group D&D - which also owns 20 Stories in Spinningfields.
20 Stories is understood to have been considered as a location, but was ruled out because it lacked the back-of-house capacity to house the show's backstage production facilities.
Producers are also believed to have been looking at potential sites in St Peter's Square and the Corn Exchange.
Sirieix is no stranger to the city, having filmed the last two series of BBC Two show My Million Pound Menu here.
The first was filmed at The Kitchens in Spinningfields, while the second moved to the vacant former Byron Hamburgers unit at the Corn Exchange, which is about to reopen as kebab restaurant Döner Haus.
First Dates will return for a brand-new series on Channel 4 and All 4 in the coming months, filmed at the restaurant in London.
Filming will then begin on thirty newly-commissioned episodes, which will all take place at the new Manchester location.
The BAFTA-winning series first aired in 2013 and has become one of the UK's best-loved and most widely-watched programmes.
Hundreds of couples have been matched up on air, leading to several engagements, marriages and a baby.
It has also spawned the spin-off series First Dates Hotel, which sees daters travel to luxury hotels in France and Italy to look for love, as well as local versions in more than 20 territories around the world.
Production company Twenty Twenty said the Manchester move showed its commitment to the UK regions.
Managing director Leanne Klein said: “We are very excited to be taking our flagship dating series to the regions.
"With the move of the First Dates restaurant we will have the chance to expose our daters to a brand new experience with a few exciting new tweaks to the much loved format.”
Madonna Benjamin, commissioning editor for Channel 4, added: “We can’t wait to work with Twenty Twenty to continue building on the success of First Dates. The new restaurant location and regional production base provide exciting opportunities for the series.”
