THERE are said to be only three sacred cows in Blind Date, the stools, the camera and Cilla Black. So when the show was revamped, it was certain the Liverpudlian legend would still be playing Cupid

'EEE, chuck, where's our Graham? I miss the sound of his luuverly voice. We had a lorralorralorra laughs, did me and Graham."

Alas for Cilla Black, Graham has been given the boot from ITV's Blind Date. Instead of his disembodied voice giving us a rundown of each hopeful, "our Graham" has joined the dole queue - a victim of the revamping of the tired dating show.

Cilla herself has survived, disproving rumours that daytime talk show host Tricia Goddard was earmarked to take over her duties as TV's top matchmaker. She even turned out to meet the Press to publicise the new series, a clear sign that she's not going to be removed without a fight.

For the moment it's game, set and matchmaker to Cilla. The new series of Blind Date is the 18th and a coming-of-age makeover was sorely needed. Flagging ratings reflected a feeling that the format, which has hardly changed since the start, was looking frayed and in need of a pick-me-up. Other dating shows have overshadowed its fun format by using a more scientific formula and getting relatives, friends and experts to fix up volunteers with dates. Blind Date had come to seem flippant and the smart answers over-rehearsed.

Usually, along with a new set and new format, a new presenter is introduced. Sometimes this works, sometimes it serves to show up the fact that the show is threadbare and past its sell-by date.

The Generation Game didn't lose viewers when Larry Grayson took over from original presenter Bruce Forsyth, just as Family Fortunes continued to be popular when Max Bygraves was replaced by Les Dennis.

Cilla is immoveable. She'll be playing Cupid and doesn't see a future in which Blind Date is shown without her. "I remember Alan Boyd, head of Pearson which owns Blind Date, said that there are three sacred cows in the show - the three stools, the screen and Cilla Black. I've been called some things in my life, but never a sacred cow."

Liverpudlian Cilla may still be overseeing the dating but the revamp has resulted in big changes. Our Graham's departure is just the tip of the iceberg. DJ Tommy Shandu, a former contestant on the show, is doing the voiceovers in the new series. She's sad about Graham Skidmore being no more, adding that it was a different concept and so it wasn't right to have him.

'I was upset, though, because, even though in 18 years I only saw him four times, he has been to my house and whenever we saw each other we'd fling our arms around each other. But when people see the show in its entirety they'll understand why he had to go."

New features include the picker having to ditch one of the hopefuls after just two questions. Then a crunch question helps the picker decide which one of the remaining two to go on a date with.

Even that's not the end. Once they've chosen and met their date, they can change their minds. They can ditch or date, with the audience shouting out to make their feelings known. No doubt this new look will please viewers used to game and quiz shows, such as The Weakest Link, that delight in humiliating contestants.

Judging by the programmes recorded so far, rejected Blind Date hopefuls don't always take it well. "The fellas get more upset than the girls when they're ditched," says Cilla. "The girls are so cool. Before it happens, the girls try to sell themselves and the audience are shouting for the man to either date or ditch. So they stand there flicking their hair and trying to look good. As soon as the guy says ditch, they give up.

"I'll ask if they're upset and they'll just go, 'Are you kidding?', and walk off. The boys are really mortified, they can't take it. I have to say that the boys ditch more than the girls, guys always think the grass is greener on the other side."

The other big change is the inclusion of surprise celebrity dates. On the first show, viewers will see student Sally Bradbury unwittingly choose a date from the four boys in boy band Blue. Cilla got along well with them, so much so that they've promised to be her backing vocalists on tracks on her new album.

You may gather from that, former pop star Cilla is planning a chart comeback. Her fresh interest in music stems from when her hit Step Inside Love was remixed for the new series, and she re-recorded the vocals. Now she's working on a new album featuring updated versions of her old hits and some new songs.

"I had so much fun re-recording Step Inside Love, I ended up staying in the studio until four in the morning," she says. "I hadn't been in a studio for ten years before that, and now I can't wait to go back."

She's also enjoying a busy social life. Since husband Bobby Willis died two years ago, she's spent most of her time out with fellow showbiz pals Dale Winton, Christopher Biggins and Paul O'Grady, alias Lily Savage.

Despite her matchmaking on Blind Date, there's no new romance for her. "I'm not really looking. Have you looked at 60-year-old me lately?," she says. "I could go younger, they do have the energy. But they don't have the intellect."

As she approaches her 40th year in showbiz, she's planning to tell all in her autobiography. Disappointingly, she says not to expect any shocks, although it will reveal more of her personality. There may also be detail about her one regret in life - never making it big in America. "I've always wanted success there. I've missed many opportunities that I had back in the 1960s, but I was just so homesick for my mum and dad. If there's one regret in my life, then that's it."

* Blind Date returns to ITV tonight at 6pm.

Published: 19/10/2002