How To Date
How To Date is an 8-week Podclass hosted by podcaster and author Elizabeth Day and relationship coach Mel Schilling, with special guests along the way. We guide you by the hand through the world of modern dating, from understanding if you’re ready to date to how to meet someone, what to expect on a first date, how to deal with rejection, spotting red and green flags and why the most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself. In our bonus episode, we answer listener questions about dating.
HOST
Mel Schilling
Mel is an Australian-born psychologist-turned-TV host who is known for her ‘confronting, yet kind’ approach to calling out behaviour. Best known as the Queen of Married At First Sight (MAFS), Mel has anchored 11 seasons of the Aussie franchise and 4 of the UK, cementing her as a household name in both regions.
She regularly appears on UK and Australian morning and prime time TV (This Morning, Lorraine, Sunday Brunch, Today) as well as radio (Heart, Magic, BBC) and her Love Advice segment on This Morning has rapidly become a popular slot for live, real time (sometimes tough) guidance.
-
Mel is considered a global expert on dating, confidence and relationships and is regularly called upon for expert comment. Her background in music theatre ensures that Mel delivers science-backed advice with an entertaining flourish and a cheeky smile.
At the heart of her work is the belief that humans learn more when they are happy and she’s made it her mission to educate, inspire and delight her audience with her own brand of Aussie honesty and wit.
HOST & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Elizabeth Day
Elizabeth Day is an award-winning author and broadcaster. Elizabeth’s chart topping podcast, How To Fail With Elizabeth Day, is a celebration of all of the things that haven’t gone right. Every week, in a one-on-one interview, a guest discusses what they have learned from failure. Interviewees have included Kate Winslet, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Andy Cohen, Malcolm Gladwell, Stanley Tucci, Jamie Dornan, Gloria Steinem, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Andrew Scott and three of the five Spice Girls. In 2019 it won the Rising Star Award at the British Podcast Awards. In 2020, Elizabeth was given a prestigious Harper’s Bazaar ‘Women of the Year’ award for ‘bringing solace to the nation with her sensitivity and wit.’
-
In 2024, she signed a major deal with Sony Music Entertainment and launched her own podcast production company, Daylight Productions, which seeks to elevate female and diverse storytelling. At Daylight, she has developed the unique concept of 'the Podclass', a masterclass in podcast form which is hosted by experts, free to listen to and designed to help listeners develop skills and live well.
Elizabeth is widely considered to be one of the top podcasters in the UK, with over 60 million downloads of How To Fail to date. Elizabeth’s live tours have played to multiple sell-out venues across the worlds, including The London Palladium, The National Theatre, the Barbican and the Southbank Centre in London, and iconic venues such as The Lowry in Salford and The Mac in Belfast. In February 2024, she sold out the Sydney Opera House in Australia. She has also presented television and radio programmes for the BBC and Sky Arts.
She has written five novels and four works of non-fiction. Her books have been translated into several languages and she is a bestselling author in Holland and Italy.
Her latest work of non-fiction was an examination of the evolution of friendship and platonic love. Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict (2023) was a Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller on publication. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Community Sharing
Here you can find everything you need to take your Podclas learning experience to the next level: downloadable worksheets, practical exercises, reading lists, inspirational prompts and more.
Enjoying How To Date?
Wish you could go deeper?
If only you had a squad of like-minded singles to go through the dating process with you...
Well, what if we told you that you could gain access to 8 step-by-step dating modules designed by our very own Mel Schilling?
Join Mel's Date Squad and she'll help you to kick fear to the curb, build dating confidence and step into your dating spotlight with courage and charisma. What have you got to lose (but your single status)?
