Thursday 1 May 2008 10:00pm - 11:00pm

Dan (Penn Badgley) is torn between two girls when his childhood friend Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) returns home and declares her feelings for him, just as he and Serena (Blake Lively) are trying to figure out what they mean to each other.

At her infamous masked ball, Blair (Leighton Meester) sends Nate (Chace Crawford) on a scavenger hunt but he is still distracted by his feelings for Serena. Although Blair makes it perfectly clear that outsiders are not welcome, a disguised Jenny (Taylor Momsen) and Dan sneak into the ball.

Meanwhile, Lily (Kelly Rutherford) asks Rufus (Matthew Settle) to accompany her to an event hosted by Blair's mother in order to make Chuck's father jealous, after he brings a model (America's Next Top Model winner Caridee English) as his date.

Gossip Girl is based on the novels by Cecily von Ziegesar and executive produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.

ITV2 channel controller Zai Bennett says: “I’m delighted that we’ve secured this brand defining acquisition for ITV2”.

Dawn Ostroff from the CW Television Network, America’s fifth broadcast network and the only network targeting young adults between 18-34, adds: “People everywhere are talking about Gossip Girl and we believe this show will continue to build. Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have created an incredibly heightened-reality world that viewers are locking into.”