As 'The Panel' is back on our screens, the RTÉ Guide's Janice Butler caught up with it’s new presenter Craig Doyle to talk about splitting his time between Ireland and the UK and the arrival of baby number 4!
'The Panel' is back this week with new host Craig Doyle at the helm. He will be joined by Panel regulars Andrew Maxwell, Colin Murphy, Neil Delamere and Mairead Farrell. Each week, the show will continue to do what it does best: deliver a candid look at the hottest stories from around the country and air some acerbic views on current affairs. Craig Doyle made a guest appearance on the show last year, and, finding it a comfortable fit, got a hankering for more. Luckily for him, he got his wish.
"I did it once before and I felt very at ease with it, so I’m really looking forward to having a bit of fun with the show. I have to do a lot of things on TV that are quite grown up and serious so it’s nice to have a change."
Although better known for his work covering sports on TV, Craig is now looking forward to letting loose with some of the most talented comedians on the Irish scene.
"You can only be yourself when you’re dealing with comedians because they’re absolutely mad, in a good way! If you put on a front they’ll rip you apart. I’ve always wanted to do this show."
So is he a fan of this genre of TV himself?
"That’s what I watch – I love QI and Mock the Week. I don’t watch chat shows or soap operas, but I like sport, documentaries, and panel style shows. So this works on many levels for me."
Earlier this year, the popular Dublin native also got to try his hand at a different type of show, the much coveted Saturday night chat slot, with 'Tonight with Craig Doyle'.
"I enjoyed some of it, but I don’t really watch soaps or reality TV so I didn’t know who half the people were. Ideally, you want to make programmes about stuff you’re interested in, but when you’re doing the chat show, it has to be so middle of the road. I always knew, even before I started it, that I wouldn’t physically be able to do a full run of it because of other commitments." Most of Craig’s work commitments are based across the pond with ITV, after he left the BBC two years ago. For him, the promise of hosting the Rugby World Cup coverage next November was the dangling carrot and his absolute "dream job".
As well immersing himself in the world of sport, the presenter has also joined the much loved Lorraine (Kelly) show as a reporter – a new gig that he kept well under wraps until the last moment. "Yeah I didn’t tell many people that I was doing it, I just got stuck in," he reveals.
And despite what the papers claim about problems behind the scenes, he is quick to defend Lorraine’s sister show, 'Daybreak', stating that as gardens go, on that set, everything is rosy.
"I was there the first morning they aired and it was really exciting. Their new studio looks amazing and there’s a great buzz about the place. It was always going to get slated because that’s just what happens in TV. But it will do really well, the production team is brilliant, they have great presenters. From what I’ve seen, it’s a very happy place and I’m genuinely not just saying that."
With his dream job in the bag, a weekly slot on Irish TV sorted and a nice number with Lorraine Kelly keeping him in touch with women’s issues, does it ever get too much for this father of three, soon to be four?
"It’s really hard and with baby number four due in November, it’s only going to get harder", he admits.
Any signs of slowing down?
"It’s not sustainable – I think the clock is ticking on it. I don’t think physically or mentally I can take the stress of the airport three times a week. There definitely is a time limit on it but at the moment I don’t know how long that is."
Janice Butler
