I told a truly weird lie on a first date 30 years ago – and it worked out surprisingly well | Emma Beddington

A new E4 dating show brings the lies we tell while dating into the spotlight. But is bending the truth always a bad thing when looking for love?

In 1994, I went on a date. I had just arrived in a new country and I liked the guy: he seemed funny and confident. He took me to a hardware store (weird, but not a dealbreaker) and then for a Tex-Mex meal during which, at some point, I told him I drove a Land Rover.

It was a truly weird, dumb, lie - I knew nothing about cars and cared even less. Maybe I thought it made me sound grown up, tougher and more capable than I was, or maybe the margaritas went to my head? I'm sure I told him other lies (I remember giving the impression that I enjoyed clubbing), but that one was memorably stupid.