A couple who became the first to marry after meeting on Blind Date have renewed their wedding vows on their anniversary - 33 years on.

Alex and Sue Tatham tied the knot in 1991 in front of millions of viewers after meeting on the classic dating programme hosted by Cilla Black in 1988.

The pair say they are still as happy as ever more than three decades later as they
renewed their wedding vows back where it all began.

Family and friends gathered for the service at St Michael & All Angels Church in Pelsall, Walsall, West Mids., yesterday (Sun).

Reminiscing about the magical day when he and Sue became "Britain's first reality TV star couple" Alex, 59, described his wife was "as beautiful as ever."

Admitting he was very nervous on his big day, he added: "But there was someone who was just as nervous as the groom, Father David Morson, the vicar here, whose upcoming work was not only going to be judged by God, my mother, my mother in law, but by 17 million viewers!"

"If the Church of England had wanted a better showcase for a wedding, then only the Archbishop, I think, was missing."

"And that is, of course, until today, when Council once again showcases all that is fabulous and beautiful about a church wedding."

"And most importantly, I have that beautiful vision of a bride, but lit up this church and the whole country."

"This is a wonderful church into a wonderful community village. "

"And I can think of no better place for a couple to be married. It has celebrated weddings now for 180 years."

The devoted couple, who have two children and live in London, hit it off on a date in Ireland and ended up tying the knot three years later in Sue's home village of Pelsall.

Over 5,000 people attended the wedding in person while 17.5 million tuned in to watch it live on TV on October 19, 1991.

Only three couples married after meeting on the dating game show in its 18 year run but Alex and Sue's was the first and most successful.

Recalling the moment celebrity matchmaker Cilla brought them together, Alex, who runs a management consultancy firm, added: "Sue was number two, aged 22, from the West Midlands."

"And I picked 'Sue number two'. We went for a medieval banquet in Ireland for our date. We got on famously. "

"One of the joys of Blind Date was we got to see each other again in two weeks. "

"We clearly said glowing things about each other. Sue lived in the Midlands and I lived in the London. I asked Sue to marry me and she moved to London."

"We got engaged in February 1991, that was about the only thing that took the first Gulf War off the newspapers front pages. "

"It was a really exciting period. I think it was 17.5 million people that watched our wedding, about 5,000 in person."

"It was bizarre, but the television company fitted in with us. It turned into six tv crews, a Goodyear blimp, and an editing suite. "

"It was Cilla's best ever viewing figures."

"She was lovely and I thought that as soon as I saw her. You can see that. As we walked off the stage together, the first thing that happened was a sound engineer removed a mic off of Sue's bottom. "

"I said this is an extraordinary experience, I said lets just make sure we get the very best out of it and be friends out of it."

"I think that we probably realised we had some shared values at that point. We're still going strong. "

"We're extremely lucky to have each other. We're still talking about it all these years later. "

"We often get recognised when we're together. I'm surprised it still happens, 33 years later. All the time."

The couple, who now live in Streatham Hill in London, have now renew their vows again at the same church where they wed 33-years-ago to the day.

Alex said: "I can't say we're regular church goers, but we like going and seeing the church we got married in. "

"We still watch it back. Every now and again we're forced to, it's pretty rare we watch it all the way through. Sue rather cringes over her 80s hair."

"There aren't that many reality stars from that period. We must be the first."

"We kept in touch with Cilla afterwards, particularly when Bobby was alive, they were a lovely couple."

"She was the number one deal on television at the time with two massive hit shows but she turned up at the wedding in a new hat as just one of the guests."

"We are still in touch with Reverend David and of course the present vicar Alison who deserves great credit for organising this whole weekend."

"It was an emotional occasion, a wonderful one because we were one of about 30 couples renewing their vows. "

"It also celebrated the 180th birthday of the parish church where it all happened for us and many people over the years."

Sue, 59, said: "I remember the TV show of course and we often watch it back all these years later. "

"I was one of the three people hoping to be chosen and my legs were shaking."

"We had to sit on these high stools and there was this big booming voice coming from the other side of the screen, which sounded charming and when the screen was removed my initial reaction was "box ticked" – he was quite fun and he enjoyed my answers so I knew we'd have a good time on the date."

"When Alex asked me to marry him he also asked me to move to London and I said yes to both questions. "

"We have been blissfully happy and raised two wonderful children in Emily and Charlie who both got married themselves this year in beautiful ceremonies."