One of the BBC's most groundbreaking queer shows needs our support next week. Charlotte Minter, TV Reporter, published June 17, 2026 at 3:00pm.
With June well underway, Mighty Hoopla completed, and hot girl summer just beginning, there's only one thing missing from this wonderful time of year. Thankfully, we won't have to wait much longer for it. This LGBTQ+ dating show, the first of its kind in the UK, is back on Tuesday June 23 for its fourth and final season. BBC confirmed the news last week, after speculation online from eager fans waiting for its release.
I Kissed A Boy/Girl (IKAB/IKAG), fronted by Dannii Minogue, has made groundbreaking TV over the last three summers, making its inclusion on British TV crucial. So, imagine the upset when it was announced in March that the BBC show was cut due to 'funding challenges'. At that point, the one comfort was that the newest series of IKAG would still air, although details remained scarce about when it would return.
Back in February, we were teased with a short video shared by BBC Three featuring host Dannii and narrator Charley Marlowe. The caption read: 'Happy Galentine's to the gals who like gals ? Meet us in the Masseria soon? ?' Like a date who says they'll 'message you at some point', this vague indication left us in turmoil as we waited for news.
Now we know it's on its way and very nearly here. However, we had reason to be concerned. In previous years, the series started in early to mid-May, fittingly closing around Pride month, just in time for summer parties and parades. When June arrived with no news, it felt strange.
Many see London pop festival Mighty Hoopla as the kickoff of the queer summer calendar, as girls and gays descend on Brockwell Park in Brixton for two days of fun. It's not unusual to spot the cast of previous IKAB/IKAG series, enjoying their first public recognition while watching an American TV personality perform. As fans, my friends and I often asked for photos with the cast we'd come to love after watching them kiss, fight, and make up in their gorgeous Italian masseria.
Last year, while waiting for Heidi Montag to grace the main stage in a pink Union Jack leotard, we reminisced with the IKAB boys about our favorite moments and let them know how amazing it was to see such representation on screen. Unfortunately, because IKAG did not air at its usual time this year, we were robbed of this opportunity at Hoopla 2025, forced to chat among ourselves while watching Real Housewife of Salt Lake City Meredith Marks produce a DJ set. We had fun, but we missed our girls.
We treated our day as a fact-finding mission, asking anyone who might have information about the show if they knew when it would air. Despite a few run-ins, we left none the wiser. Two and a half weeks later, we can finally get excited about the show's return.
I've saved the date and invited friends over for a viewing party, something Charley has urged her TikTok followers to do to show 'how amazing and needed it is'. Ex-IKAG contestant Amy Spalding pleaded with fans to do the same. In a video, she said: 'We gotta feed the dykeonomy, and the dykeonomy will feed us.'
Let's celebrate the final season of this celebration of queer love and make noise for the first (and hopefully not last) LGBTQ+ dating show. I Kissed A Girl returns on Tuesday June 23 on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
