Telly bosses want to reboot ANOTHER Paul O'Grady classic - have they learned nothing from For the Love of Dogs? OPINION

ITV has given the Big Brother house a lick of paint in the past 12 months while also putting a fresh coat of WD-40 on the spinning Wheel of Fortune.

The Weakest Link also returned recently with Romesh Ranganathan stepping into Anne Robinson's shoes while Stephen Fry failed to impress when Jeopardy! reared its head again.

Then there's the father-and-son duo of Bradley and Barney Walsh along with a fresh crop of t-shirt-busting, god-like-physiqued Gladiators who've reinstated the game show as a staple of Saturday night programming.

To be fair to the Walshes, Gladiators has proven a hit and the Beeb has already given it the green light for a second run.

But now, another classic has found itself front and centre of telly bosses' thinking as they mull over which dead horse to flog next.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this, TV exec Dan Baldwin said: "You always look at old shows that are no longer on television. You are always coming up with new ways of bringing back a show.

"There is nothing wrong with that because those shows were great for a reason. As well as coming up with new ideas, we’ve always got one eye on what could come back and what could be a hit like Gladiators is.

"Another one that you’d like to see back, Blind Date, are we ready for that? What a Saturday night that was. I’m thinking Blind Date with Claudia Winkleman on BBC1, how about it?"

So there you have it - Blind Date. That's the answer to terrestrial TV's battle with the ever-growing and infinitely funded world of streaming.

But Blind Date's revival not only represents a failure to come up with new ideas, it's a disregard towards the legacy some of the UK's best-loved figures.

Both Cilla Black and Paul O'Grady fronted Blind Date, with the former notably the more synonymous with the gig.

O'Grady gave Blind Date a go for four years on Channel 5 until it was sadly put out to pasture.

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Now, in 2024, another of the late O'Grady's shows is being given a refresh as ITV has decided to appoint Alison Hammond as the new face of For the Love of Dogs.

Following his death last year, ITV took the decision not to let the show O'Grady held so close to his heart bow out with him, but instead still tried benefit from the ratings with a new presenter that many have called the wrong choice.

Hammond’s appointment has been met with threats of a “boycott” and complaints that Martin Clunes, Ricky Gervais or any number of other famous faces would be better suited.

It's a sorry state of affairs when those high up at the nation's top TV channels fail to listen to what its viewers - or licence fee payers - actually want.

And at this rate, it won't be long until telly bosses stick Paddy McGuinness or Stephen Mulhern in Lily Savage's dress in a desperate attempt to relive the comedy of yesteryear that worked so well.