Villa thriller would be too hot for Cilla

If the idea of playing the dating game at a smart villa somewhere in the Mediterranean appeals to you and you are aged between 18-35 and unattached, you might consider stepping along to Oxford's Playhouse on March 20 to have a chat with the makers The Villa, the Sky One dating show that makes Blind Date look like Watch With Mother.

The producers are looking for "interested fun-seekers on the lookout for love in the sun this summer", who wouldn't necessarily object to finding themselves later featured in the pages of the News of the World, which is exactly what happened to Lisa X from Liverpool and James Weeks from Brighton. Their "steamy romps" on the pool table and in the jacuzzi were enough to guarantee them their 15 minutes of fame in the media.

Other couples in the series fell in love and ended up living together after being matched by the programme's cupid computer.

The villa where filming will take place will be wired for sound and pictures, ensuring that none of the unfolding dramas takes place in secret.

This proved to be the undoing of Andy from Edinburgh first time around.

Having 'pulled' Sam from Liverpool, he then made the mistake of wondering aloud if he could manage to do the same to the other three girls featured in the show. Hardly surprisingly, his musings went down like a burning Spitfire. But it's all part of this sort of fun.

"It's very much in the lap of the gods who gets chosen," said researcher Tom England. "But we're looking for people who are chatty, extrovert and lively.

"Anything from a dozen to 100 people could turn up on the day, but we need four girls and four boys for each of the 12 programmes, so that's 96 people in all."

If you're up for it, the auditions are due to begin at noon on Monday, March 20.

Story date: Tuesday 29 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.