Former Matchmaker Hillie Marshall Tells Her Story
Chiswick author's memoir Playing Cupid is a candid look at the dating game
Hillie Marshall was the founder of Dinner Dates
September 17, 2026
Hillie Marshall’s journey to becoming one of Britain’s most recognizable matchmakers was anything but conventional. Originally trained as a radiographer, she transitioned into the performing arts, taking on roles in opera, musical comedy, pantomime, and theatre.
She went on to establish her own production company, Edwardians Unlimited, where she produced Old Time Music Hall and Variety shows starring British entertainment legends such as Barbara Windsor, Roy Hudd, Leslie Crowther, Nicholas Parsons, Clive Dunn, and Barry Cryer.
In the mid-1980s, while navigating a difficult divorce and raising her children, Hillie took a bold new step by founding Dinner Dates, an introduction agency that grew into one of the UK’s premier social event companies for single people.
Over two decades, her expertise in romance made her a familiar face and voice across British media. She worked as an agony aunt for newspapers, magazines, and online outlets, authored relationship guidebooks, hosted her own radio show on LBC, and made regular television appearances on popular programs including The Big Breakfast, This Morning, and GMTV. Late actress Barbara Windsor once warmly noted of her longtime friend that Hillie has lived a lot, loved a lot, and throughout her life has been the shoulder for many to cry on, working straight from her big heart.
Now, Hillie looks back on those years in her funny, sharp, and candid memoir, Playing Cupid, published by SilverWood Books. The book offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at building an introduction agency and all the intrigue it entailed, serving as a nostalgic time capsule to how people dated before the online era, dating apps, and movements like #MeToo. Having witnessed a lifetime’s worth of sweethearts, scoundrels, stalkers, bounders, rebounders, happy endings, and even a few tragedies, Hillie brings those colourful stories to life while reflecting on the evolution of modern courtship.
Beyond the entertaining anecdotes, Playing Cupid aims to be a practical guide to love, life, and starting over at any age. Although Hillie is no longer an active matchmaker, her book is packed with timeless hints and tips on how to build meaningful connections and find a life partner. Today, she lives with her second husband, splitting her time between W4 and South West France.
Her memoir is available in paperback for £14.99 and Kindle for £6.99 via Amazon and major bookstores.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |