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The Chase's Mark Labbett left viewers gobsmacked when he seemed to doze off during a romantic dinner on Celebs Go Dating.

The quiz whizz joined the latest series of the E4 dating show in the hope of finding love after parting ways with his girlfriend Hayley Palmer.

Mark was paired with a woman named Natalie, but the date took a turn for the worse when the 60-year-old appeared to drift off mid-conversation - and then attempted to sip from a tealight holder.

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As they were getting acquainted over dinner, Mark began to look drowsy, yawning and shutting his eyes while munching on his meal. The show's narrator Rob Beckett didn't miss this, questioning if the star was having a snooze, reported Bristol Live.

"Catching a cheeky 40 winks whilst eating is a skill I admit," he quipped. "Mark, wake up!" Rob shouted, jesting that Natalie might have to "throw a spoon at him".

Mark seemed to perk up when his date asked about his culinary skills, and shared that he usually has breakfast at a mate's restaurant. However, the telly star then picked up his candle instead of his glass for a drink.

Unaware of his blunder, he brought it to his lips, but when nothing came out, he examined it, looking puzzled. "Oh that wasn't a drink!" he declared.

His behaviour delighted viewers, with one sharing on X: "Not Mark trying to drink the tealight I'm f****** dying." Another declared it was "the funniest thing I've seen on TV this year".

Mark - who received a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2017 after a nurse noticed his leg skin wasn't healing correctly - didn't clarify why he appeared drowsy during the date.

However, earlier this year it emerged that whilst filming Celebs Go Dating he had to finish early one day due to a hypoglycaemic episode, a condition where blood glucose levels drop too low.

The Mirror quoted him as saying: "One night, I had a hypoglycaemic attack. I might have been a bit grumpy that night. I apologised to everyone after."

Celebs Go Dating airs Monday to Thursday on E4 at 9pm.