First Dates star Steph Kyriacou has praised the show for its positive trans representation.
Video producer Steph appeared on Tuesday's episode (January 16) where viewers saw him go on a successful date with Alicia.
Speaking to Hello!, Steph said it was an "honour and privilege" to be able to share positive trans representation on the show.
Related: First Dates' Fred Sirieix admits he initially hesitated over signing on to the show
"I'm almost 30 and I still get overwhelmed when I see trans representation because we're not used to good trans representation, so much of it, we're used as the butt of jokes or in shock, disgusting storylines," he said.
"First of all, that's obviously rude and inaccurate, but we just want to see people like us living our lives and doing normal things, like going on dates and being embarrassing and flirting with someone and saying something cringy.
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"People genuinely forget that at the end of the day, we're just people, which sounds like the most simplistic statement, but people forget that we are just humans living our lives trying to get through day to day."
Praising the episode's portrayal of him, Steph continued: "It's a massive deal that there's a platform allowing positive trans representation without making a big deal of it.
"I didn't know how much of what I said was going to be included in the show itself, but I'm really thankful that it was just a small portion of the date, because there is more to me than just being trans.
"First Dates did a really good job of getting that balance right in the episode."
Steph appeared on the episode with his mum Andrea, who unfortunately didn't find her perfect match.
Related: First Dates' Merlin Griffiths given "all clear" from bowel cancer
Speaking about being on a date in the same restaurant as his mum, Steph said: "I just let her do it.
"I was having such a nice time that I genuinely just forgot half the time, not even that my mum was there, but I forgot that I was on a TV show."
Viewers will be please to know that Steph and his date Alicia really hit it off and have since gone on a second date.
First Dates airs on Channel 4
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Stephanie is a freelance news writer, who previously covered WWE and AEW for Digital Spy.
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she studied journalism at Birkbeck University.
Outside of her work at Digital Spy, she writes about pop culture, with a special focus towards Irish media and how it intersects with politics.
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