Viewers praise Rochdale whistleblower Sara Rowbotham as ‘brave’ after First Dates appearance

Fans of Channel 4’s First Dates have described whistleblower Sara Rowbotham as an ‘amazing woman’ and a ‘legend’ after she shared her experiences of the Rochdale grooming scandal on Tuesday night’s show.

One scene saw the former sexual health worker break down in tears as she explained the impact the scandal had on her life.

“I became really angry all the time. I’m ready to start to live my life again.”

Rowbotham told her date: “I grassed up Greater Manchester police and social services, the NHS. I went to parliament and grassed them all up for being rubbish.”

BBC’s drama Three Girls, which aired last week, detailed the Rochdale victims’ horrifying ordeal and shone a light on Rowbotham’s heroic actions.

Maxine Peake starred as the sexual health worker, depicting her struggle to get local authorities including the police to take allegations of rape and sexual assault against vulnerable underage girls seriously.

Finally, after years of work, her efforts led to several convictions of grooming gang members.

But despite her dedication, Sara was made redundant from the sexual health clinic where she worked a year later.

Viewers had praised Rowbotham for her bravery after the final episode of Three Girls aired on BBC One on Thursday May 18.

And Tuesday night’s First Dates saw many tune in to see if the 50-year-old would be lucky in love, with lots of viewers wishing her happiness on social media.

Despite a clear mutual admiration for one another, her date, dog-trainer Nicki wasn’t the perfect match viewers had hoped for.

Though a relationship wasn’t on the cards for Rowbotham, she’s certainly gained plenty of Twitter love from First Dates fans.