Going on a date for the first time can be nerve-wracking enough without letting millions of people watch.

But that's exactly what children's entertainer Stuart Hodgson did when he appeared on Channel 4's popular First Dates programme in his quest to find love.

The 44-year-old magician from Penrith, known to families across the north of England as Stu Di Doo, was partnered up with Jayne, a 41-year-old from Newcastle.

First Dates sees potential couples matched up and sent on a blind date to a restaurant in London where the whole process is then filmed.

Stuart attempted to win over Jayne, who described herself as a holistic therapist and animal communicator, with his corny jokes and positive attitude.

When the pair first met and Jayne was telling Stuart about her job he asked if she was a bit "like Dr Doolittle".

She revealed she'd been single for about 18 months and said: "People see the blue hair and animal communication and think I'm a bit out there."

Stuart seemed to like Jayne's appearance.

"I love your hair by the way," he said.

She replied: "It's very popular now, a lot of people have what they call unicorn hair."

During last week's episode the conversation flowed and the pair appeared to hit it off.

Stuart even did a card trick involving the waiter as he looked to impress Jayne.

"One of my favourite quotes is a day without laughter is a day wasted," Stuart added.

While there were lots of smiles and laughing their conversation did turn to something more serious, with the pair finding common ground over the loss of their parents.

Stuart revealed he had lost his mum aged 10 in a car crash and Jayne said she'd also lost her mother recently.

Speaking afterwards Jayne said: "He was very interested in what I do, it didn't freak him out and didn't think 'how am I going to talk to this person who talks to animals'."

They both then agreed to go on another date, with Stuart adding: "You don't meet a catch like this every day."

Stuart told the News & Star he has received a huge number of supportive comments on social media and messages sent to him personally about the episode.

He said: “It was an amazing experience. The whole premise of the show, where your first meeting with your date is being recorded for millions to watch, was a bit nerve-wracking but then if the relationship was a success, to have that as a record would have been fantastic.

“Unfortunately, even though we seemed to be well matched at the restaurant, the relationship was only short lived before we went our separate ways, so it’s back to the drawing board for me as a 44-year old singleton.”

He added that he would consider doing another dating programme in the future.