An Epsom actress who has been unlucky in love starred in ITV’s Take Me Out this month after initially believing it was a prank her friends had set-up.

Debi Doy, who trains at The Kingdom School of Arts, opened-up about the ‘brilliant’ experience on the dating show, hosted by Paddy McGuinness.

She said: “I was approached through social media in the earlier part of last year and they said, ‘Would you be happy to be part of the tenth season?’

“I have been single for over four years – at first I wasn’t sure – I thought it might be the girls winding me up.”

However, after steeling her nerves and going on the show, Debi ended up being whisked away by contestant Roscoe, who chose her out of 30 women for a date in Fernando's – AKA Tenerife.

Of her date, 29-year-old Roscoe from Glasgow, she said: “He’s not normally the sort I go for.

“I was embracing the experience really, going for something I wouldn’t do in the outside world.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the time with anyone else… We’re going to stay friends, I don’t have a bad word to say about him.”

Debi said her past relationships haven’t worked out because of the struggle maintaining them long-distance, one boyfriend even lived in France.

Her ideal man is “someone in my age group and within the M25!

“My sort-of celebrity crush is someone like Tom Hardy, he is about my age and lives down the road; I’m in Epsom and he’s in Richmond.”

The friendships Debi made with other women on the show are going strong – the group Whatsapp every day and plan to meet up in Newcastle this March.

Debi is now focusing on her career and laughing-off the teasing from her friends, who have suggested she tries another dating show.

Season one, episode one of Take Me Out aired on January 6, 2018 and is still available on demand through the ITV Hub.