Fáilte Towers
Encyclopedia
Fáilte Towers was an RTÉ
reality TV show
that was broadcast as a one off during August 2008. The concept of the show involves thirteen celebrities running a hotel for sixteen days and nights in order to win money for their designated charities. The show format was not repeated nor was it exported or resold. The name is a play on the BBC
sitcom
Fawlty Towers
- Fáilte
is the Irish language
word for "welcome". The hotel used in the series is Bellingham Castle in Castlebellingham
, County Louth
.
The show is presented by Aidan Power
and Baz Ashmawy
and the judges are Bibi Baskin
, Dublin restaurateur Derry Clarke
and Castle Leslie
hotelier Sammy Leslie
. Each night the public are invited to vote for the contestant they would like to stay in the show. At the end of the show one of the contestants must "check out". The presenters tell each of the contestants individually if they are "safe" and if so are ordered "back to work". The three remaining contestants are then marched into the Oliver Plunkett Suite to face the judges, one of whom sends one of the contestants back to work before all three cast their votes on which of the remaining two must leave the show. The evicted celebrity is then interviewed by the presenters, with best bits shown as well. Created by Adare Productions
, it is available to watch online for up to two weeks after being broadcast. John Creedon
won on 17 August.
were treated as one celebrity, completing the same chores and "checking out" together.
ese tourists and a group of nudist
s.
The stripper providing entertainment for the hen party upset some of the other guests. An elderly woman accosted Jennifer Maguire, the acting manager and said: "We came here for a quiet lunch. This is disgusting! They should be in another room." Jennifer gently guided her out of the room but she glided back in again roaring: "It's absolutely revolting. It might be a young person's thing, but you should take it somewhere else."
The nudists arrived at the hotel in normal enough dress and requested their rooms only to later emerge for their meal downstairs without clothes, sparking gasps of astonishment as Patricia McKenna and Joseph McCaul tried to work their way around the cramped room. Brian Dowling was seen wagging his finger at one man in an embarrassed gesture of exasperation.
Don Baker, as acting manager, was involved in a heated argument with judge Derry Clarke over the serving of lunch to a group of guests from Kerry. Liz O'Kane insisted that the celebrities had come to an agreement with the producers that lunch was not to be served that day but Clarke though otherwise and, in an attempt to further confuse the hoteliers, argued with both Baker and O'Kane. Consequentially the two were called before the judges in the Oliver Plunkett Suite that same night with O'Kane told to "check out". With tensions rising by the following day, the programme's producers offered manager, Brian Dowling the chance to nominate three of his co-workers to enjoy a day and night of pampering at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan
. He was allowed to pick himself but chose not to, instead selecting Baker, Evelyn Cusack and Jennifer Maguire, who had been before the judges in the Oliver Plunkett Suite for three consecutive nights. The remaining celebrities were given the day off and embarked on a trail of antics.
The "wedding" descended into chaos when the groom was spotted in an embrace with his new wife's best friend and the bride's mother stormed out of the dining room in disgust. However it emerged that the wedding was staged and the guests were simply actors exaggerating a scenario to put further strain on the celebrities. This upset Joseph McCaul who had accidentally spilt wine on the bride's dress and upset her mother. When one of Michelle Heaton's dresses was offered as a replacement there were accusations that it would be too revealing, which upset the manager, Brian Dowling. When the set-up was discovered the celebrities reacted angrily with Evelyn Cusack sarcastically serving coffee at breakfast the next morning.
On Michelle Heaton's day as manager, Don Baker was barman. When a Dubliner named Don arrived at the hotel and offered to fix the broken kegs in the cellar, Baker led him downstairs oblivious to his intention to steal the kegs. When Baker returned upstairs and attempted to serve the customers it was discovered that the Heineken
, Guinness
and Budweiser
was gone. Heaton had to phone a local bar and borrow three kegs to feed the thirsty guests. This was also the day that a bus of Japanese tourists turned up at Fáilte Towers. The celebrities were upset as this meant having to change their menu and adapt new recipes to suit their tastes. Joseph McCaul spent his time entertaining the guests with his Japanese language
skills and was surprised to learn that one female was even voting for him. When the food didn't go down well, McCaul came up with his own concoction of sushi involving tomatoes and other food items which Michelle Heaton promptly ordered back into the kitchen before it could be served. Later Dickie Rock
arrived to entertain the guests but, already fifteen minutes late, Heaton embarked on a journey to his room in search of an explanation. It emerged that he refused to leave his room until he had been fed his favoured chicken vindaloo dish. Joseph McCaul had to make a trip to the local Chinese for "a chicken curry for Dickie Rock" while his sister and Don Baker entertained the unsettled crowd. At the end of the night Michelle Heaton broke down in the kitchen and John Creedon chased the cameraman outside. However there was a CCTV camera trained on the kitchen allowing all to be seen. She was seen to be sobbing to herself, although this time her boyfriend was not present to cheer her up. He had turned up to dine at the hotel only a few days previously and upset her when he sent his dinner back to the kitchen with a request to see the chef before she realised what was really happening.
Among the more light-hearted moments were Brian Dowling dunking Joseph McCaul's head into a lobster tank with his sister's permission and Dowling later playing a game of "kiss the gay" with Sean Ó Domhnaill in the kitchen. Ó Domhnaill eventually relented off camera. Among the celebrities to break down and cry have been Michelle Heaton, Donna and Joseph McCaul, Evelyn Cusack and Liz O'Kane.
, John Creedon
, Brian Dowling
, Michelle Heaton
and Jennifer Maguire
. Don, Jennifer and Michelle faced the judges. Michelle checked out.
, John Creedon
, Brian Dowling
and Jennifer Maguire
. For the first time the public had exclusive say on who checked out. Jennifer was the first to check out. The remaining three were taken into the Oliver Plunkett Suite. Don finished third and exited to be interviewed by presenter Baz. Brian finished second. The winner was John.
and she was said to bear "no hard feelings" towards the other charities. Jill Clark, head of fundraising, said: "The society is delighted that Claire has kindly chosen to donate all the proceeds raised throughout the duration of her appearance on the show to Action Breast Cancer, a programme of the Irish Cancer Society
."
Presenter Baz Ashmawy has evoked much criticism for his style, "bellowing" in a manner that suggests he "seems to be addressing a completely different audience in a completely different programme on a completely different planet, somewhere inside the universe of his own head". Then reminding viewers of the voting numbers, Baz thrust his crotch so forcefully at the camera that "it nearly broke the lens - "These are the numbers you're gonna (thrust!) need (thrust!)."
and Donna and Joseph McCaul
has been criticised as being akin to "pathetic child-like blubbering".
Comparisons were made with the state of the economy as it was noted that "z-list celebrities, failed Eurovision acts, reality-tv refugees and somebody called Patricia McKenna
are forced to seek work in the catering trade." Evelyn Cusack was deemed to have been included "as a punishment for all the crap weather
she has been correctly predicting".
The format for the show has attracted interest from overseas buyers. RTÉ has said that several foreign programme distributors have expressed interest in buying the format but “no agreements will be reached until the current series has finished”. “We have had enquiries from a few distribution companies in England
,” said Brian Graham, one of the series producers. “We are too busy at the moment to deal with them so we are waiting until the series is over to decide what to do. This is a format that could definitely travel. The plan is this could be done in any country.”
The final received nearly a million viewers and the entire series regularly received between 350,000 and 450,000 viewers. Nevertheless, the Irish Independent
named Fáilte Towers as one of the six worst television programmes of 2008, describing it as "car crash television".
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
reality TV show
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
that was broadcast as a one off during August 2008. The concept of the show involves thirteen celebrities running a hotel for sixteen days and nights in order to win money for their designated charities. The show format was not repeated nor was it exported or resold. The name is a play on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
- Fáilte
Fáilte
Fáilte , Fàilte , and Failt is a word meaning "welcome".This word appears in the Irish phrase céad míle fáilte as well as the similar Scottish phrase ceud mìle fàilte and the Manx keead milley failt. It also occurs in the name of Fáilte Ireland and its predecessor organization, Bord Fáilte...
is the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
word for "welcome". The hotel used in the series is Bellingham Castle in Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. The village has got a lot quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway which bypasses the village...
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
The show is presented by Aidan Power
Aidan Power
Aidan Power is an Irish television presenter. He appears from time to time on Raidió Teilifís Éireann .-Career:Power was educated at St. Mac Dara's community college and then Ballyfermot Senior College where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in broadcasting and journalism in 1998...
and Baz Ashmawy
Bazil Ashmawy
Bazil Ashmawy , popularly known as Baz Ashmawy, is an Irish radio and television personality who appears on Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He is co-host of Weekend Breakfast with Baz & Lucy on RTÉ 2fm...
and the judges are Bibi Baskin
Bibi Baskin
Olive "Bibi" Baskin is a former television and radio presenter for Raidió Teilifís Éireann . She is "RTÉ's legendary redhead". She has also been a magazine and newspaper journalist and writer. She is now running a heritage guest house and hotel in Alleppey, Kerala, India.Baskin left RTÉ in the 1990s...
, Dublin restaurateur Derry Clarke
Derry Clarke
Derry Clarke is an Irish celebrity chef, reality television judge and proprietor of the restaurant L'Ecrivain. He acted as a judge alongside Bibi Baskin and Sammy Leslie on the RTÉ One reality television series Fáilte Towers and has appeared on other programmes such as The Restaurant, The Afternoon...
and Castle Leslie
Castle Leslie
Castle Leslie, home to an Irish branch of Clan Leslie, is located on the 4 km² Castle Leslie Estate adjacent to the village of Glaslough, north-east of Monaghan town in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Architecture:...
hotelier Sammy Leslie
Sammy Leslie
Sammy Leslie is a female Irish hotelier, media personality and reality television show judge. She is the trustee of the Castle Leslie estate in County Monaghan, being responsible for a hotel, a spa, an equestrian centre and an organic cookery school...
. Each night the public are invited to vote for the contestant they would like to stay in the show. At the end of the show one of the contestants must "check out". The presenters tell each of the contestants individually if they are "safe" and if so are ordered "back to work". The three remaining contestants are then marched into the Oliver Plunkett Suite to face the judges, one of whom sends one of the contestants back to work before all three cast their votes on which of the remaining two must leave the show. The evicted celebrity is then interviewed by the presenters, with best bits shown as well. Created by Adare Productions
Adare Productions
Adare Productions is an Irish entertainment television production company. It has produced numerous television shows which have been broadcast in Ireland, including Delegation, Livin' with Lucy, Hanging with Hector, The Fame Game, and Fáilte Towers for Radio Telefís Éireann, and Glas Vegas and...
, it is available to watch online for up to two weeks after being broadcast. John Creedon
John Creedon
John Creedon, also known as "Creedo", is an Irish language enthusiast and veteran broadcaster with RTÉ Radio. Host of The John Creedon Show, evenings on RTÉ Radio 1, he has also filled in for Dave Fanning on The Dave Fanning Show....
won on 17 August.
Contestants
There are thirteen contestants in the show. Donna and Joseph McCaulDonna and Joseph McCaul
Donna and Joseph McCaul , also known as The McCauls, are a sibling musical duo who represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, which was hosted by Kiev, Ukraine...
were treated as one celebrity, completing the same chores and "checking out" together.
| Name | Career | Check-in date | Check-out date |
| John Creedon John Creedon John Creedon, also known as "Creedo", is an Irish language enthusiast and veteran broadcaster with RTÉ Radio. Host of The John Creedon Show, evenings on RTÉ Radio 1, he has also filled in for Dave Fanning on The Dave Fanning Show.... |
RTÉ Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making... radio personality Radio personality A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,... |
August 2 | August 17 |
| Brian Dowling Brian Dowling Brian Patrick Robert Dowling is an Irish television presenter who rose to fame after being crowned the winner of the second series of UK reality television show Big Brother in 2001. He also won Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, making him the ultimate Big Brother housemate... |
Big Brother winner | August 2 | August 17 |
| Don Baker Don Baker (musician) "Donald Baker" redirects here. You may be looking for the plaintiff in Baker v. WadeDon Baker is an Irish blues musician and actor.... |
Blues Blues Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads... musician Musician A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession.... |
August 2 | August 17 |
| Jennifer Maguire Jennifer Maguire Jennifer Maguire is an Irish television presenter and reality show participant. She is originally from Dublin.Maguire entered British television series The Apprentice in its fourth series as a 27-year-old marketing consultant, who says that when she first ran an office, she made £60,000 in six... |
The Apprentice UK The Apprentice (UK Series Four) Series Four of The Apprentice was a British reality television series, which was won by Lee McQueen. The series began on BBC One on 26 March 2008, and ran for twelve weekly episodes. Auditions and interviews are reported to have taken place during the first two weeks of July 2007 in London,... contestant |
August 2 | August 17 |
| Michelle Heaton Michelle Heaton Michelle Christine Heaton is a British pop singer, television personality, and recently a glamour model as well. She was married to former boyband member Andy Scott-Lee.-Career:... |
Popstars Popstars Popstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss... finalist, former Liberty X Liberty X Liberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor... member and You're A Star You're A Star You're a Star was a singing contest in Ireland,similar to th X Factor in the United Kingdom and American Idol in the USA created by Screentime ShinAwiL and Radio Telefís Éireann. It was shown weekly on RTÉ One over the winter months of each year... judge |
August 2 | August 16 |
| Sean Ó Domhnaill | Former GAA Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders... Gaelic football Gaelic football Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland... er and TG4 TG4 TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland.... match analyst |
August 2 | August 13 |
| Donna and Joseph McCaul Donna and Joseph McCaul Donna and Joseph McCaul , also known as The McCauls, are a sibling musical duo who represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, which was hosted by Kiev, Ukraine... |
You're A Star You're A Star You're a Star was a singing contest in Ireland,similar to th X Factor in the United Kingdom and American Idol in the USA created by Screentime ShinAwiL and Radio Telefís Éireann. It was shown weekly on RTÉ One over the winter months of each year... winners and Eurovision Song Contest 2005 Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,... participients |
August 2 | August 12 |
| Evelyn Cusack | RTÉ Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making... weather presenter Weather forecasting Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century... |
August 2 | August 10 |
| Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna is an Irish independent politician. She served as a Green Party Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004.-Background:... |
Candidate for European elections 2009 | August 2 | August 9 |
| Liz O'Kane | RTÉ Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making... presenter Presenter A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show... |
August 2 | August 6 |
| Clare Tully | Page three model | August 2 | August 4 |
| Luke Thomas | Pop singer | August 2 | August 3 |
Voting
| Date | Bottom 3 | ||||
| August 3 | Luke | Jennifer | Don | ||
| August 4 | Clare | Jennifer (2) | Patricia | ||
| August 6 | Liz | Don (2) | Jennifer (3) | ||
| August 9 | Patricia | Jennifer (4) | Donna & Joe | ||
| August 10 | Evelyn | Don (3) | Jennifer (5) | ||
| August 12 | Donna & Joe (2) | Michelle | Brian | ||
| August 13 | Sean | Jennifer (6) | Michelle (2) | ||
| August 16 | Michelle (3) | Jennifer (7) | Don (4) | ||
| Finale | Jennifer | Don | Brian | John | |
Guests
Members of the public were encouraged to apply online for an opportunity to stay in the hotel for the show's duration. Free rooms would be provided but food and drink was to be paid for by the guests. Guests were encouraged by the producers to wreak havoc in their rooms, a fact that was evidenced by some of the early scenes of broken furniture, soiled mattresses and flooded bathrooms which greeted the celebrities early in the morning.The show
The celebrities have entertained numerous functions including a hen party and a wedding, a bus of JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tourists and a group of nudist
Naturism
Naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. It may also refer to a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social nudism....
s.
The stripper providing entertainment for the hen party upset some of the other guests. An elderly woman accosted Jennifer Maguire, the acting manager and said: "We came here for a quiet lunch. This is disgusting! They should be in another room." Jennifer gently guided her out of the room but she glided back in again roaring: "It's absolutely revolting. It might be a young person's thing, but you should take it somewhere else."
The nudists arrived at the hotel in normal enough dress and requested their rooms only to later emerge for their meal downstairs without clothes, sparking gasps of astonishment as Patricia McKenna and Joseph McCaul tried to work their way around the cramped room. Brian Dowling was seen wagging his finger at one man in an embarrassed gesture of exasperation.
Don Baker, as acting manager, was involved in a heated argument with judge Derry Clarke over the serving of lunch to a group of guests from Kerry. Liz O'Kane insisted that the celebrities had come to an agreement with the producers that lunch was not to be served that day but Clarke though otherwise and, in an attempt to further confuse the hoteliers, argued with both Baker and O'Kane. Consequentially the two were called before the judges in the Oliver Plunkett Suite that same night with O'Kane told to "check out". With tensions rising by the following day, the programme's producers offered manager, Brian Dowling the chance to nominate three of his co-workers to enjoy a day and night of pampering at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan
County Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He was allowed to pick himself but chose not to, instead selecting Baker, Evelyn Cusack and Jennifer Maguire, who had been before the judges in the Oliver Plunkett Suite for three consecutive nights. The remaining celebrities were given the day off and embarked on a trail of antics.
The "wedding" descended into chaos when the groom was spotted in an embrace with his new wife's best friend and the bride's mother stormed out of the dining room in disgust. However it emerged that the wedding was staged and the guests were simply actors exaggerating a scenario to put further strain on the celebrities. This upset Joseph McCaul who had accidentally spilt wine on the bride's dress and upset her mother. When one of Michelle Heaton's dresses was offered as a replacement there were accusations that it would be too revealing, which upset the manager, Brian Dowling. When the set-up was discovered the celebrities reacted angrily with Evelyn Cusack sarcastically serving coffee at breakfast the next morning.
On Michelle Heaton's day as manager, Don Baker was barman. When a Dubliner named Don arrived at the hotel and offered to fix the broken kegs in the cellar, Baker led him downstairs oblivious to his intention to steal the kegs. When Baker returned upstairs and attempted to serve the customers it was discovered that the Heineken
Heineken Pilsener
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
, Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
and Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
was gone. Heaton had to phone a local bar and borrow three kegs to feed the thirsty guests. This was also the day that a bus of Japanese tourists turned up at Fáilte Towers. The celebrities were upset as this meant having to change their menu and adapt new recipes to suit their tastes. Joseph McCaul spent his time entertaining the guests with his Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
skills and was surprised to learn that one female was even voting for him. When the food didn't go down well, McCaul came up with his own concoction of sushi involving tomatoes and other food items which Michelle Heaton promptly ordered back into the kitchen before it could be served. Later Dickie Rock
Dickie Rock
Dickie Rock is an Irish singer. He experienced much success on the Irish charts during the 1960s, but has continued on as a popular live act as well as occasionally hitting the charts ever since.-Early fame:...
arrived to entertain the guests but, already fifteen minutes late, Heaton embarked on a journey to his room in search of an explanation. It emerged that he refused to leave his room until he had been fed his favoured chicken vindaloo dish. Joseph McCaul had to make a trip to the local Chinese for "a chicken curry for Dickie Rock" while his sister and Don Baker entertained the unsettled crowd. At the end of the night Michelle Heaton broke down in the kitchen and John Creedon chased the cameraman outside. However there was a CCTV camera trained on the kitchen allowing all to be seen. She was seen to be sobbing to herself, although this time her boyfriend was not present to cheer her up. He had turned up to dine at the hotel only a few days previously and upset her when he sent his dinner back to the kitchen with a request to see the chef before she realised what was really happening.
Among the more light-hearted moments were Brian Dowling dunking Joseph McCaul's head into a lobster tank with his sister's permission and Dowling later playing a game of "kiss the gay" with Sean Ó Domhnaill in the kitchen. Ó Domhnaill eventually relented off camera. Among the celebrities to break down and cry have been Michelle Heaton, Donna and Joseph McCaul, Evelyn Cusack and Liz O'Kane.
The semi-final
The semi-final took place on Saturday August 16, 2008. Five celebrities remained that night; Don BakerDon Baker (musician)
"Donald Baker" redirects here. You may be looking for the plaintiff in Baker v. WadeDon Baker is an Irish blues musician and actor....
, John Creedon
John Creedon
John Creedon, also known as "Creedo", is an Irish language enthusiast and veteran broadcaster with RTÉ Radio. Host of The John Creedon Show, evenings on RTÉ Radio 1, he has also filled in for Dave Fanning on The Dave Fanning Show....
, Brian Dowling
Brian Dowling
Brian Patrick Robert Dowling is an Irish television presenter who rose to fame after being crowned the winner of the second series of UK reality television show Big Brother in 2001. He also won Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, making him the ultimate Big Brother housemate...
, Michelle Heaton
Michelle Heaton
Michelle Christine Heaton is a British pop singer, television personality, and recently a glamour model as well. She was married to former boyband member Andy Scott-Lee.-Career:...
and Jennifer Maguire
Jennifer Maguire
Jennifer Maguire is an Irish television presenter and reality show participant. She is originally from Dublin.Maguire entered British television series The Apprentice in its fourth series as a 27-year-old marketing consultant, who says that when she first ran an office, she made £60,000 in six...
. Don, Jennifer and Michelle faced the judges. Michelle checked out.
The final
The final took place on Sunday August 17, 2008. Four celebrities ramained on the final night; they were Don BakerDon Baker (musician)
"Donald Baker" redirects here. You may be looking for the plaintiff in Baker v. WadeDon Baker is an Irish blues musician and actor....
, John Creedon
John Creedon
John Creedon, also known as "Creedo", is an Irish language enthusiast and veteran broadcaster with RTÉ Radio. Host of The John Creedon Show, evenings on RTÉ Radio 1, he has also filled in for Dave Fanning on The Dave Fanning Show....
, Brian Dowling
Brian Dowling
Brian Patrick Robert Dowling is an Irish television presenter who rose to fame after being crowned the winner of the second series of UK reality television show Big Brother in 2001. He also won Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, making him the ultimate Big Brother housemate...
and Jennifer Maguire
Jennifer Maguire
Jennifer Maguire is an Irish television presenter and reality show participant. She is originally from Dublin.Maguire entered British television series The Apprentice in its fourth series as a 27-year-old marketing consultant, who says that when she first ran an office, she made £60,000 in six...
. For the first time the public had exclusive say on who checked out. Jennifer was the first to check out. The remaining three were taken into the Oliver Plunkett Suite. Don finished third and exited to be interviewed by presenter Baz. Brian finished second. The winner was John.
Broadcasting schedule
- Episode 01: Saturday August 2, 9.40pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 02: Sunday August 3, 9.40pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 03: Tuesday August 5, 9.40pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 04: Wednesday August 6, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 05: Saturday August 9, 9.40pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 06: Sunday August 10, 9.30pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 07: Tuesday August 12, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 08: Wednesday August 13, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
- Episode 09: Saturday August 16, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
- Final Show: Sunday August 17, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
Controversy
Claire Tully was refused by two breast cancer charities who rebuffed her offer to raise money on their behalf. This was linked to her debut as Ireland's first Page 3 model in 2008. After being turned down by the Marie Keating Foundation and Breast Cancer Ireland, Tully's donation was eventually accepted by the National Breast Cancer Research Institute at NUI GalwayNational University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
and she was said to bear "no hard feelings" towards the other charities. Jill Clark, head of fundraising, said: "The society is delighted that Claire has kindly chosen to donate all the proceeds raised throughout the duration of her appearance on the show to Action Breast Cancer, a programme of the Irish Cancer Society
Irish Cancer Society
The Irish Cancer Society is the national charity in the Ireland dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem, and improving the lives of those living with cancer ....
."
Presenter Baz Ashmawy has evoked much criticism for his style, "bellowing" in a manner that suggests he "seems to be addressing a completely different audience in a completely different programme on a completely different planet, somewhere inside the universe of his own head". Then reminding viewers of the voting numbers, Baz thrust his crotch so forcefully at the camera that "it nearly broke the lens - "These are the numbers you're gonna (thrust!) need (thrust!)."
Reception
Fáilte Towers has been praised in the Irish media as being different from other reality television shows where the contestants don't do any work. The insight into how the celebrities would cope in a hard-working environment has also been praised, although the constant moaning of celebrities such as Michelle HeatonMichelle Heaton
Michelle Christine Heaton is a British pop singer, television personality, and recently a glamour model as well. She was married to former boyband member Andy Scott-Lee.-Career:...
and Donna and Joseph McCaul
Donna and Joseph McCaul
Donna and Joseph McCaul , also known as The McCauls, are a sibling musical duo who represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, which was hosted by Kiev, Ukraine...
has been criticised as being akin to "pathetic child-like blubbering".
Comparisons were made with the state of the economy as it was noted that "z-list celebrities, failed Eurovision acts, reality-tv refugees and somebody called Patricia McKenna
Patricia McKenna
Patricia McKenna is an Irish independent politician. She served as a Green Party Member of the European Parliament for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004.-Background:...
are forced to seek work in the catering trade." Evelyn Cusack was deemed to have been included "as a punishment for all the crap weather
2008 Irish flash floods
The 2008 Irish flash floods were a series of flash floods that occurred across the island in August 2008. The floods and related weather conditions primarily affected the following counties; Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Antrim, Carlow, Galway, Laois, Louth, Meath, Kildare, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Offaly,...
she has been correctly predicting".
The format for the show has attracted interest from overseas buyers. RTÉ has said that several foreign programme distributors have expressed interest in buying the format but “no agreements will be reached until the current series has finished”. “We have had enquiries from a few distribution companies in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,” said Brian Graham, one of the series producers. “We are too busy at the moment to deal with them so we are waiting until the series is over to decide what to do. This is a format that could definitely travel. The plan is this could be done in any country.”
The final received nearly a million viewers and the entire series regularly received between 350,000 and 450,000 viewers. Nevertheless, the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
named Fáilte Towers as one of the six worst television programmes of 2008, describing it as "car crash television".