I've Been Single For 27 Years. Mam Asks Every Now And Then 'When Are You Going To Find A Girlfriend?'

A NEW REALITY DATING SERIES FOR WELSH SINGLETONS IS PROMISING A 'BACK TO BASICS' APPROACH TO DATING

- ANDREW FORGRAVE

WISE, it's about as far away from Love Island as you can get. A new dating show for Welsh singletons will instead attempt to find 'love on the piste' in the mountains of France.

Set against the breathtaking scenery of the Alps, S4C's Amour & Mynydd sees four men and four woman living together in a chalet for days. The four-part reality dating series starts on January 1 and presenting it are Elin Fflur and Gwil Thomas.

They believe the format offers a welcome alternative to digital dating, instead focusing on the 'magic of chemistry' and not 'swiping left or right.'

Among those taking part is Gerwyn, 27, from Cerrigydrudion in Conwy. He manages a tractor dealership and admits, tongue in cheek: "I've been single for 27 years. Mam asks every now and then 'when are you going to find a girlfriend?'

"I've been on a few dates but none of them have worked out. It's quite a lonely feeling and it's about time I did something about it."

Elin Fflur has been married to her husband Jason for 12 years and in that time she's been amazed by the way dating has changed.

She suspects online dating is something that romance-seekers get 'addicted to' without always producing positive outcomes.

Elin said: "There's something very superficial about judging a potential partner based on a photo and a snippet of information.

"Listening to the group discussing this was an eye-opener for me, and it gave an insight into how people find love these days. On Amour & Mynydd, they had to embrace that traditional element of talking to each other faceto-face right from the start.