{"id":337,"date":"2018-05-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realitytitbit.com\/?p=7538"},"modified":"2018-05-03T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T11:00:00","slug":"first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2018\/05\/03\/first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch\/","title":{"rendered":"First Dates: 1980&#8217;s pop-star turns nostalgia into sadness &#8211; &#8216;Out of touch&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although episode five of First Dates was supposed to provide a kick of entertaining nostalgia, there was an element of sadness to the show.<\/p>\n<p>Former 1980\u2019s pop-star and Curiosity Killed The Cat band member Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot cut an unrecognisable figure, admitting to a long battle with drink and drugs.<\/p>\n<p>Branded \u2018out of touch\u2019 and \u2018offensive\u2019 for his end-of-date joke, fans have taken to Twitter to sympathise with the former superstar.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wow I can\u2019t believe how horrid some people are being on Twitter about Ben from cktc &#8230; it\u2019s called Age! That\u2019s what growing old does to you unless you\u2019re like other celebs and spend a fortune on plastic surgery! \ud83d\ude44 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/getreal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#getreal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FirstDates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstDates<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Fabulous Fi\u2728 (@FirozaUltiManag) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FirozaUltiManag\/status\/991802878800130051?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>A Troubled Past<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Ben admitted that he had been desperately trying to move on with his life since his 1980\u2019s stardom.<\/p>\n<p>He had a difficult time stepping out of the A-list loop of drug and alcohol dependency, however, spending three months in rehab.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Who&#39;d have thought Ben from Curiosity Killed The Cat would be on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FirstDates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstDates<\/a>, not surprised Sarah hasn&#39;t recognised him, he looks so different<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tracey (@Tracey__S__) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tracey__S__\/status\/991791646512738304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 52-year-old told barman Merlin that he \u201cnever liked the spotlight\u201d and was enjoying life as more of an anonymous figure &#8211; you won\u2019t find him on Twitter or Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>His date, 43-year-old music manager Sarah, however, was about to fire Ben straight back to the past.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Curiosity Almost Killed The Cat\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Ben tried to swerve the inevitable music chat the best he could, mentioning that he was more involved in the business back in the 80s.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah probed, however.<\/p>\n<p>You have to admit, that hat was definitely hiding a story or two\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">If Ben from Curiosity Killed The Cat doesn&#39;t want to be recognised, then why the fuck is he still wearing the same hat that he had on in 1987?<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FirstDates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstDates<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; F\u00fcz\u017ey\ud83d\udcfaB\u00f6x\u2122 (@FuzzyTellybox) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FuzzyTellybox\/status\/991791182584872960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sarah was shocked and amazed at the news, oozing excitement from the off.<\/p>\n<p>She even called her mum to say that she was sat having dinner with her idol &#8211; a man she once had posters of on her wall.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Outdated &amp; Out of Touch<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Despite Ben coming across as polite and attentive, there was an element of outdatedness to his approach<\/p>\n<p>First, there were his flashing shoes.<\/p>\n<p>Sarah (and everyone else on the internet) found these bad-boys absolutely repulsive&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hey Ben, my 8 yr old has grown out of wearing flashing trainers  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FirstDates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstDates<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/justsaying?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#justsaying<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Claire Brabin (@baileybug500) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/baileybug500\/status\/991798245318946816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With the date coming to a close, Ben had hit the old-age dilemma of the bill.<\/p>\n<p>However, lacking any grace or charm, the empty bottle of champagne seemed to have got the better of him.<\/p>\n<p>Spouting an unusual and off-putting story about a friend, the chat completely put Sarah off.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Have had to re-wind and re-listen to Ben and his \u201cgoing Dutch spiel\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Couldn\u2019t quite believe it the first time &#8211; the second time it sounded even worse.<\/p>\n<p>Bizarre.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FirstDates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstDates<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Karl Cunliffe (@KDCunliffe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KDCunliffe\/status\/991800983276670977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FirstDates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FirstDates<\/a> blown out Ben, take your 1980s attitude with you .<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Clucking Heck (@AmberZoe12) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmberZoe12\/status\/991799213108363266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 2, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Sarah said: It wasn&#8217;t funnny.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>WATCH First Dates every Wednesday night, on E4, at 10 pm.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First Dates: 1980&#8217;s pop-star turns nostalgia into sadness &#8211; &#8216;Out of touch&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249734239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1358],"tags":[1382],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-first-dates"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/realitytvshrine.com\/realityshrine\/2018\/05\/03\/first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"First Dates: 1980&#8217;s pop-star turns nostalgia into sadness &#8211; &#8216;Out of touch&#8217;","url":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2018\/05\/03\/first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/2018\/05\/03\/first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Liam Curtis"}],"creator":["Liam Curtis"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Reality Shrine","logo":"https:\/\/realitytvshrine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-mX3_1x3z.png"},"keywords":["first dates"],"dateCreated":"2018-05-03T11:00:00Z","datePublished":"2018-05-03T11:00:00Z","dateModified":"2018-05-03T11:00:00Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"First Dates: 1980&#8217;s pop-star turns nostalgia into sadness &#8211; &#8216;Out of touch&#8217;\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/realityshrine\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/03\\\/first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/realityshrine\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/03\\\/first-dates-1980s-pop-star-turns-nostalgia-into-sadness-out-of-touch\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"\"},\"articleSection\":\"News\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Liam Curtis\"}],\"creator\":[\"Liam Curtis\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Reality Shrine\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/realitytvshrine.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/cropped-mX3_1x3z.png\"},\"keywords\":[\"first dates\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2018-05-03T11:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-03T11:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-03T11:00:00Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/realitytvshrine.com\/p.js"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249734239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8904,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions\/8904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/realityshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}