THE newest waiter on hit Channel 4 series First Dates said he honed his skills waiting tables at a city centre bar.

Former York College student Grant Urquhart joined the cast of the popular television show for series 10, which begins tonight.

The heartwarming series sees couples meet for a date at the Paternoster Chop House restaurant in London, where they are served by a crew of waiting staff headed up by maître d’hôtel Fred Sirieix.

And Grant, 24, said it was his experience as a waiter at The Biltmore Bar and Grill and The Cross Keys pub in York that helped him land the job.

The former Joseph Rowntree School pupil said: “A friend told me First Dates were scouting for new waiters and I have done a lot of waiting tables around York.

“I was absolutely bricking it at the audition.

“But it was more about waiting tables than acting so my previous jobs really helped me out.

“The main difference is there’s a lot of cameras about. I still have to take orders and I still drop things - I spilled guacamole down my trousers. And we get tips occasionally if things go well.”

Grant, who moved to London to study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, says he has brought his “northern charm” to the show.

He said: “I am trying to teach Fred about York, he loves the accent.

“Everyone else is southern and I’m the lone northerner there so they are always taking the Mick.

“It’s like a proper family, I see them all the time outside of work.”

But he said he still misses York and regularly returns home to visit his family. He said his dad, Shaun, loves the show and was very proud when his son landed the role.

He said: “My dad has always watched it.

“My dad and my mum, Cindy, will both be watching. I will definitely be watching too, it’s a little bit surreal.

“I think this series we have got the oldest guy who has ever been on the show. There’s also a pair of exes that come on the show together, dating side by side.

“I think I have always been a bit of a romantic, I have never been into Tinder.

“I find the show really cute and I think that’s why audiences like it so much, it’s so genuine.”

And he confessed the romance has rubbed off on him too, adding: “I and newly in a relationship and it’s going really well, she’s a London lass.”

Series 10 of First Dates starts tomorrow night on Channel 4 at 10pm.