First Dates NZ contestant returns for a second chance at TV love

Sue's first date did not go to plan. "My first impression was, 'Please don't let this be my date'," says the Aucklander about her first time on a local romance reality show.

Things only got worse from there. "He had so many issues with what he could eat and drink and wasn't terribly nice to the waitress when she was simply trying her best."

Then this happened: "He whispered in my ear he was a nudist ... Then he took a call in the middle of the date! Jolly rude, I thought."

Sue Pond is back for a second attempt at love on First Dates NZ.

The results of Pond's hilariously awful experience aired during season one of First Dates New Zealand, a local version of an international romance reality show.

In it, random contestants are paired up, filmed having dinner and are then asked one question, which they have to answer in front of each other: "Do you want to see each other again?"

With some pairs coupling up and walking off hand-in-hand, the results can be heart-warming.

As Pond's experience showed, they can also be excruciating.

But it hasn't stopped Pond, 61, from returning for season two, with her second first date airing this Thursday night on TVNZ 2.

"I'm ever the romantic," says the New Lynn-based administrator about why she's returning to the show. "I believe for everyone there is someone out there. I've just got to find my someone special."

Polly Harding was tricked into auditioning for local romance reality show First Dates NZ.

There's another familiar face in the season two debut - ZM Drive show host Polly "PJ" Harding.

But Harding has a completely different reason for appearing on the show: she was tricked into it by her ZM co-host Jase Hawkins.

Harding was told by Hawkins she'd need to be blindfolded for a birthday surprise, only to be led into a room set up for a First Dates NZ audition.

"I took the blindfold off and, before I knew it, I was sitting there in front of the camera pouring my heart out," says ZM's resident goofball.

"I was a hopeless single last year and Jase, being the big brother-type character that he is, thought he'd help me out by registering me behind my back."

Once she took the blindfold off, Harding went through with her audition and accepted an offer to go on the show with the knowledge that it would make good fodder for her radio show.

But once she met her date, she realised the show could result in something more than just a funny story - she could meet someone special

"You never know ... you might actually find love on the show. You've got to take risks through life," she says. "What are you going to lose apart from dignity? To be honest, I've already lost it."

But there was one thing hindering her chance at love - a head cold. "I do believe there's a mountain of tissues, which is quite visible throughout the date, which slowly starts to pile up.

"It's probably not the attractive image I was trying to portray," she says.

Would she recommend others go on the show? Harding laughs: "I'll give you my answer once I actually see it, because I might still live to regret it."

LOWDOWN
Who: Sue and PJ
What: First Dates NZ
Where and when: Screening tonight on TVNZ 2 at 8.30pm; episodes also available to stream via TVNZ OnDemand