ITV set to make Davina host of ‘Love Handles Island’ show

DAVINA McCALL is set to be signed up by ITV as host of a new dating show dubbed ‘Love Island for the middle-aged’.

Sources at the network say she is on the verge of agreeing to present the programme, The Romance Retreat, in which single parents will live in a villa.

They have told The Mail on Sunday that Ms McCall – who pitched the idea, and has become an unofficial spokesperson for middle-aged women – was their number one choice.

‘Davina is the perfect fit, she is bubbly, fun and has also endured her own relationship problems,’ said one insider. ‘Until she met her boyfriend she was a single mother too.’

Ms McCall, 55, outlined her idea earlier this month on Steven Bartlett’s podcast, The Diary of a CEO, saying: ‘I could fill a villa in Love Island with middle-aged people with the best backstories you have ever heard in your life.

‘They’ve lived a life – they’re widows, they’re people who have been through horrific divorces. They are people who have split up with somebody and decided they want to try going out with somebody the same sex as them.

‘They’re interesting people. I’d watch that show.’

The ITV website recently promoted a search for contestants for the series, saying: ‘ITV1 are looking for vibrant single parents from across the UK who are in search of love, for a brand new dating show! This is the ONLY dating show where single parents can search for love, by spending time in a luxury retreat, where all the parents have been nominated by their grown-up children.’

Mother-of-three McCall – a judge on ITV show The Masked Singer – was first married to Andrew Leggett but they split after a few months. She divorced her second husband, presenter Matthew Robertson, in 2017, and is now with hairdresser Michael Douglas, 48. They moved in together before Christmas.

One of Ms McCall’s first television roles was on Channel 4 dating series Streetmate. The show saw her scour the country in search of singles, and then try to find them their perfect partner by grabbing passers-by in the hope they would find love.