The producers of ITV1's Saturday night dating show Take Me Out have denied claims in the papers that contestants are told who to pick before the programme is filmed. The hit show, hosted by Paddy McGuinness, sees single men trying to impress 30 female contestants in a bid to win a date on a holiday island - with the ladies turning off their light if they are not interested in him. However the Mirror has claimed that some of the women on the show were told beforehand to turn men down even if they were interested in a bid to "make better television". And it follows reports that one male contestant had complained to Thames Television after being told that girls on the show had claimed they wanted to choose him - but were told not to. One unnamed source told the paper, "Some of the girls were asked to keep their lights turned on even when they were not interested in the man on offer. "The whole thing is totally misleading, and leaves a lot of people feeling humiliated and exploited afterwards." The insider added that they also were made to keep their lights on for some of the more eccentric contestants even when they were not interested. However Talkback Thames have now rejected the claims. "We strongly refute any claims that we tell the contestants how to act or how to respond - turning a light on or off is entirely up to individual choice," said a spokeswoman for the production company. This is not the latest scandal to hit the show this series. Contestants Aaron Withers and Wen Jing-Mo - who went on a date together - were both revealed to have worked as escorts in the sex industry. Another contestant, Rory Alexander, was axed from the show after it was revealed he had a conviction for assault, while model Damion Merry - who claimed to be single on the show - was later revealed to have a girlfriend whom he wed just weeks after filming his appearance.
