RTÉ Television to Deliver Christmas Crackers

RTÉ Television today (Wednesday 2 December) unveiled a cracking Christmas schedule with a feast of festive programming for viewers to enjoy over the Christmas and New Year season. Lots of brand new home-produced entertainment, drama, lifestyle, factual and sports programming will be delivered as well as special seasonal versions of viewer favourites.

Ireland's top comedy talent has been reigned in to provide a lift and plenty of laughs this Christmas with two brand new shows from Pat Shortt: Mattie and Inside the Crystal Ball, while childhood friends Tommy Tiernan and Hector Ó h'Eochagáin join forces for a special hour-long comedy talk show filmed in front of a live audience in Galway in Tommy and Hector's Craic House The Christmas cheer continues as PJ Gallagher takes us on a thoroughly entertaining white knuckle ride through the crazy world of Irish motorbike riding in PJ Gallagher's Back in the Saddle.

In all, thirteen new Entertainment programmes will be unwrapped over the Christmas season. It's back-to-back comedy on RTÉ Two on Stephen's night as PJ Gallagher is followed by Maeve Higgins' Yuletide Fancy Vittles and Podge & Rodge's Late Night Lock-Inn and Christmas Vittles as Maeve and her sister plan a big Christmas party in their house in Cobh. Ryan Tubridy wraps up the year in a Late Late Show featuring President Mary McAleese as well as some of the biggest names from the world of Irish sport and entertainment. On New Year's Eve, Marty Whelan and Kathryn Thomas are joined by Sharon Corr, Jon Kenny, Daniel O' Donnell, Clelia Murphy and Henry Shefflin as they try their luck for their chosen charities in a Celebrity Winning Streak, while later that night The All Ireland Talent Show will ring in the New Year live on RTÉ One with special surprise performances.

RTÉ 2fm's Will Leahy presents Quiz of The Noughties promising a feast of nostalgia from the world of pop culture, politics, news and sport in a light-hearted look back at the decade, while Marty Whelan gives us a much needed feel-good look at the recession in Things That Went Boom in the Bust as he unveils a surprising list of businesses and products that have thrived. Ireland's Biggest "Hits" 2009 provides a fascinating overview of the past year from the perspective of Ireland's most popular web searches.

In the brand new Corrigan's Live Christmas Cook-Along, Richard Corrigan will cook the perfect Christmas dinner in real time live from Farmleigh house, featuring live interaction with the audience at home. The Restaurant 5 Star Cook-Off sees Des Cahill and Derek Bannon go head-to-head, while Mary Kennedy and Simon Delaney try and regain some culinary kudos in The Restaurant 2 Star Cook-Off.

RTÉ Television will also deliver a range of documentaries specifically commissioned for the Christmas season. In Stephen Gately: A Picture of You, those who knew the international pop star talk openly about the loss of their friend, while Band of Brothers - Scéal na Mulkerrins, recounts the remarkable journey of three young boys from Inis Mór in the Aran Islands, who won the 2009 All Ireland Talent Show displaying their indigenous traditional music and inventive sean-nós dancing capabilities. Ballybrando recounts the little known story of Marlon Brando's brief, but heartfelt Irish adventure in which a film he starred in began shooting in Ireland only to fold ten days later, while John Huston: An American in Galway, is an affectionate portrait of the Hollywood director's Irish years seen through the eyes of locals who crossed his path. In The Summer of 69: A National Geographic Photography Special, photographer Jim Sugar returns to Ireland 40 years on, charting the difference between the Ireland of 1969 and 2009.

Music programmes include The Swell Season- One Step Away featuring Oscar-winning duo Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova live in concert, Altan with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in an hour-long music special marrying traditional tunes with classical arrangements, as well as The 11th Hour Beatles Special presented by Dave Fanning featuring interviews with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Sir George Martin.

In a landmark year for Irish sport, RTÉ Television will deliver nine brand new programmes and documentaries celebrating Irish sporting achievements and legends with the countdown of The Greatest Irish Sportsperson Ever! as voted by the Irish public, a backstage look at Croke Park on the day of the All Ireland Football Final in Croke Park Lives, as well as personal portraits on sporting heroes such as racing legend Vincent O'Brien in Vincent O'Brien - The Master, Olive Loughnane's World Championship success in Walk, Don't Run - The Olive Loughnane Story and an in-depth profile on the former GAA Director General featuring eight GAA Presidents in Liam Mulvihill: All the President's Man. RTÉ Television will also be looking back on the year that was beginning with the RTÉ Sports Awards 2009 on Sunday 20 December, in addition to the documentaries Kilkenny's 4th in a Row, Out of Their Hands: Ireland's World Cup Journey, Bernard's Big Year and Football Final 2009 - Reflections. In addition, quality sports action and analysis on offer over the Christmas seasons includes coverage of all four days racing from the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown, highlights of top-flight action in Premier Soccer Saturday as well as Heineken Cup highlights.

Irish drama this festive season includes five episodes of Fair City as romantic complications make for explosive developments in Carrigstown. Niamh and Paul celebrate a bittersweet first wedding anniversary preoccupied with staking a claim on the future of Yvonne's unborn child, while Christy and Carol's cosy first Christmas together is jeopardised by Bob's links to the Bulgarian underworld and Shannon's mischief threatens to leave Tracey and Kylie devastated.

Irish drama will also be showcased in an Irish Movie Season over the festive period with the premieres of the Oscar-winning Once, Alarm, 32A and Maeve Binchy's How About You, as well as classic Irish favourites such as the Oscar-winning My Left Foot, The Commitments and The Dead. The best of international movies will be also be premiered on RTÉ Television this Christmas including The Devil Wears Prada, Brokeback Mountain, The Departed, Mission Impossible 3 and The Holiday, alongside family favourites Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Spiderman 3, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Happy Feet.

News programmes over the festive season start on Monday 21st December with the Capital D Christmas Special presented by Anne Cassin and the children's News service news2day. On Wednesday, 23rd December, Michael Ryan and Mary Kennedy present the Nationwide Christmas Special and on the following Wednesday, 30th December, the biggest national and international stories will be reviewed in the RTÉ News Review of the Year. RTÉ political correspondent David McCullagh will look at 1979 as seen through the newly-released Government papers for that year in Behind Closed Doors on New Year's Day.

RTÉ Young People's will deliver plenty of lively, entertaining and popular programmes for younger viewers this Christmas season. On The Block is back for a second season, where children from four different communities document their lives for one year. Brian Ormond presents Who are you Kidding?, as adults perform for, and are judged by a live audience of children. T.O.A.S.T Christmas Special will keep children amused on Christmas Day, while The Den gives youngsters an opportunity to put the presenters on the spot by challenging them to some Christmas action! Test The Teachers, presented by Paddy McKenna, is a game show where pupils turn the tables to put their teachers to the test. Other favourites such as Den Tots, Kazoo, Eye2Eye, Crap Rap and Jump Spin, Grind will ensure that this season on RTÉ Two's The Den is a memorable one for young people.

Highlights from this year's Christmas religious programmes include, Wexford Carols as performed by The Priests, Imelda May, Liam O'Maonlai, Kíla, Vocare, the Young Wexford Singers and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, while Midnight Mass will be broadcast live across Europe via Eurovision from St Teresa's Church, Clarendon Street, Dublin. Christmas Day Service and Mass for Christmas Day will be broadcast, as well as live coverage of the Pope's Christmas message, Urbi et Orbi and The Archbishops' Message. In Songs From The Garden Craig Doyle presents a celebration of the history, landscape and faith of his adopted home town, Enniskerry, in Co. Wicklow,

Noel Curran, MD TV, RTÉ said; "I'm proud to unveil such a strong and varied Christmas schedule to top-off what has been a great year for RTÉ Television, attracting a combined channel share of 42%* this year so far. This schedule offers viewers a huge range of quality home-produced programming that has continually attracted them in such numbers to their public service broadcaster. I'm particularly gratified that we're in the position to deliver home-production in such volume in these challenging economic times: From cookery to comedy, drama to documentaries, music and young people's specials, alongside movies and magic, RTÉ Television has a selection of seasonal favourites to suit all ages and tastes."