Based on the Australian show Taken Out, it first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom and simulcast on TV3 in the Republic of Ireland on 2 January 2010.

At any point during the rounds, the women could press the button in front of them to turn off their light if they did not want a date with the man.

If all the women turned off their lights before the end of the third round - this was referred to as a "blackout" - then the man would have to leave the show without going on a date, accompanied by the Céline Dion version of the hit Eric Carmen song "All by Myself".

in Manchester, which is actually Club Bijou on Chapel Street, the outcome of which is shown as part of the following week's show.

For the second series, the date took place abroad on the Isle of FERNANDO'S!, a fictional location based in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.

Successful couples left the programme upstairs on the opposite side of the studio to the 'Love Lift', and a song, usually from the latin pop genre, was played.

Take Me Out: The Gossip was a behind-the-scenes sister show that began airing weekly on ITV2 from series 3-5 and 7–9, following the broadcast of the main programme.

Shortly after the second series began in December 2010, The Guardian's Tim Dowling said that, "When you strip away its tired, utterly false premise, all that remains of Take Me Out is a lot of flashing lights and some scripted innuendo delivered in a range of regional accents.

"[8] Reviewing the show after the second series concluded in March 2011, Manchester Grouch of Manchester Central wrote: "ITV should consider renaming the show 'Desperate Moron Lift Disco'" and concluded the review by comparing it to "[...]a drunken Saturday night out that ends up in a dodgy club having a quick fumble with that girl from the hairdressers you've been eyeing up all week.

"[9] Writing for the Metro during the third series of the show in January 2012, Rachel Tarley said that Take Me Out was the "death knell for feminism disguised as entertainment".

[10] However, after the beginning of the fifth series in January 2013, Julia Raeside, also writing for The Guardian, admitted that the show had become "must-see TV" and was "a worthy successor to Blind Date": "[...]when Take Me Out noisily barged its way on to the Saturday night schedules in 2010, it was too much for me.

But the women behind those podiums, however much I fail to identify with them for wanting to be on TV with their armpits constantly on show, make it gripping viewing.

Prior to this, Jim was caught pleasuring himself in a Wishaw Sports Centre cubicle, which alerted the police to investigate him.

[13] The studio segment of contestant Chelsea Stewart scoring a date with model Damion Merry caused controversy when broadcast.

[14] It later transpired that not only was Damion not single at the time the programme was filmed, he was also about to marry his girlfriend Sarah Ann Gras; the segment was broadcast a month after the wedding took place.

"The whole thing is totally misleading and leaves a whole lot of people feeling humiliated and exploited afterwards," one girl who had appeared on the show told the media.

"The producers pulled some of the girls in and said, 'If you're waiting for George Clooney or Brad Pitt, they're not coming'," "They told us to keep our lights on for the next contestant, who was more than 10 years younger than me.