{"id":13506,"date":"2017-02-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/churchill2021.co.uk\/portishead-retiree-steals-the-show-on-channel-4s-first-dates-hotel\/"},"modified":"2023-02-01T10:11:13","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T10:11:13","slug":"portishead-retiree-steals-the-show-on-channel-4s-first-dates-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.themediapeople.co.uk\/churchill2021\/news\/retirement-lifestyle-news\/portishead-retiree-steals-the-show-on-channel-4s-first-dates-hotel\/","title":{"rendered":"Portishead retiree steals the show on Channel 4\u2019s First Dates Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 79-year-old from Portishead has enjoyed a shot at celebrity status on his quest to find love through Channel 4\u2019s latest series of First Dates Hotel<\/a><\/strong>. Bev Walkden and his date Sheila, 81, from Wokingham, were the stars of the show with viewers taking to social media to congratulate them for demonstrating that age is no barrier to finding love.<\/p>

Bev Walkden has been a widower for almost three years, but agreed to take part in the show after some encouragement from his friends at St Peters Lodge, in particular his Lodge Manager Vivienne. \u201cI thought perhaps I\u2019ll look a twit or feel daft,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then I thought, four days in France, a lovely hotel and a chance of some romance, what have I got to lose? And I\u2019m very glad I did as I had a wonderful time.\u201d<\/p>

Despite Bev having a beard \u2013 a big no-no in Sheila\u2019s book \u2013 the pair thankfully hit it off. After enjoying dinner at the hotel restaurant, and Sheila even giving Bev a foot massage back at his room, the couple shared their first kiss on camera. It all proved a big hit with viewers, with one writing on Twitter: \"Bev & Sheila just had me in tears! What a bloomin marvellous pair\" and another adding: \"Bev and Sheila just melted my heart.\"<\/p>

And the good news is that they are still in touch, with Bev visiting Sheila so that they could watch the episode when it aired on Channel 4 earlier this month. He said: \u201cSheila lives in a retirement development in Wokingham with a Guest Suite similar to the one we have here, so I went to stay there so we could both enjoy the show together. It was a lot of fun, and we\u2019ve both had lots of nice messages from people who saw it.<\/p>

\u201cI really enjoyed making the programme, and hopefully we\u2019ve helped to prove that age is no barrier to getting out there, embracing life and having a shot at romance.\u201d<\/p>

Bev has been a resident at Churchill\u2019s St Peter\u2019s Lodge in Portishead for two years. \u201cI\u2019m very content here,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a nice community and we get together regularly. I can even go away on a cruise \u2013 or a TV dating show \u2013 without having to worry about my apartment. Everything is looked after here by our brilliant Lodge Manager Vivienne, who does a great job and is also a good friend to all.\u201d<\/p>

Churchill Retirement Living\u2019s one and two bedroom apartments are available all over the UK. With less to worry about, Owners have more time to do the things they enjoy, including taking advantage of the host of other benefits on offer, such as having family or friends to stay in the development\u2019s well-appointed Guest Suite, attending one of the many events in the Owners\u2019 Lounge, or enjoying the beautifully landscaped grounds.<\/p>

Churchill\u2019s Grange Lodge development, located on St Peters Road in Portishead, has a limited number of apartments still available. For further information, click here<\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p>

Picture courtesy of Channel 4.<\/h5><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 79-year-old from Portishead has enjoyed a shot at celebrity status on his quest to find love through Channel 4\u2019s latest series of First Dates Hotel. Bev Walkden and his date Sheila, 81, from Wokingham, were the stars of the show with viewers taking to social media to congratulate them for demonstrating that age is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPortishead retiree steals the show on Channel 4\u2019s First Dates Hotel - Churchill Retirement Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Portishead retiree steals the show on Channel 4\u2019s First Dates Hotel - Churchill Retirement Living\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 79-year-old from Portishead has enjoyed a shot at celebrity status on his quest to find love through Channel 4\u2019s latest series of First Dates Hotel. 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