I'M READY TO SERVE MY FIRST PLATES

Edinburgh matchmaker can't wait to help Fred & Co with romance skills

- RICK FULTON

THE nation's most romantic restaurant has reopened its doors for telly viewers with an Edinburgh waiter.

Gerald Richards is one of two fresh team members joining First Dates regulars maître d’ Fred Sirieix and bartender Merlin Griffiths.

New Yorker Gerald, 56, who moved to Edinburgh seven years ago, enjoyed looking after couples hoping for love on the show, but admitted his own search for romance in Scotland hasn't been so successful.

He said: "Dating here is very different from the US.

"From my experience, Scottish men tend to be quite straightforward and practical when it comes to romance.