One third of the nation has admitted to having their first kiss with a new partner in front of a TV, during date night. Love Actually has been voted the nation’s favourite date night movie with 62 per cent agreeing that the classic British film is a winner to get partners in the romantic mood.
The lifestyle study of 2,000 daters, commissioned by TalkTalk TV, found that women wait until the 5th date to suggest a night in front of the TV with men being a little keener and offering it as a 3rd date activity. 1 in 6 people also admitted to feeling awkward and embarrassed if their partner suggests TV with lots of sex scenes or steamy romance.
Comedy was highlighted as being the winning genre with 2/3 of people agreeing a romantic comedy will lead to a successful date but unsurprisingly horror was voted the worst with 55% of people predicting The Exorcist would result in a disastrous date. Careful selection is critical with 1 in 10 people said that a lousy choice of film would be just cause to break up and over 20% of couples asked had argued over their partner’s TV choices.
The research also found that 15% of people have put on a specific film or genre to get a reaction from their partner e.g. rom coms are seen by 2/3 as a sure fire way to get partners feeling romantic.
| Top 10 best films for a date | Top 10 worst films for a date |
| 1. Love Actually | 1. The Exorcist |
| 2. Notting Hill | 2. Schindlers List |
| 3. Dirty Dancing | 3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
| 4. Pretty Woman | 4. Nightmare on Elm Street |
| 5. Bridget Jones’ Diary | 5. Star Wars triology |
| 6. Titanic | 6. The Terminator |
| 7. Forest Gump | 7. Die Hard |
| 8. When Harry Met Sally | 8. Spice World |
| 9. Groundhog Day | 9. Basic Instinct |
| 10. There’s something about Mary | 10. American Pie |
Foreign language films and documentaries were also voted as least likely to incite passion on date night.