The Nolans Go Cruising was one of the surprise TV hits of the last year - now the girls are back with a second season of their quirky reality show.
Shown on the Quest Red satellite channel, it's one of those shows that people rooted out and ended up rooting for the Nolans, one of the most successful family groups in pop music history.
The new run promises to see them confronting their pasts, embracing their futures, and their collective lust for life is irrepressible even when faced with the challenges of holidaying during the pandemic.
They'll be on the brand new MSC Virtuosa, one of the largest and most glamorous ships to ever visit ports including Liverpool, Southampton, Belfast and Portland in Dorset.
The trek around the UK will culminate with Coleen’s son Shane’s showbiz engagement party in Manchester, where the whole family will come together to celebrate.
Getting to chat with Anne, Denise and Linda on Zoom (the other two were tied up) ahead of the show’s return was great fun, and here’s a flavour of our conversation . . .
Were you surprised by the success of The Nolans Go Cruising?
Anne We were very surprised, actually. We really enjoyed it, it was amazing for us, we visited some fantastic places. And the ship was exquisite. But we were thrilled it was such a success.
It was more successful than we even hoped. I don’t even know why.
I’ll tell you why: it was because you guys came across as real people
Anne A lot of people like that surreal thing, they like the idea of people living like that, with the fantastic cars and the fantastic home. I don’t know why, but there are a lot of people like that.
So I thought, maybe they won’t like us because we remind them of what their lives are like, probably. I don’t know. That’s why we were so surprised.
Linda We always said, when they asked us about doing it, we wanted it to be us. Don’t put us in made-up situations, don’t try and get us to argue, just follow us and if it works - terrific.
And if it doesn’t that’s our fault. But that’s how we wanted it to come across.
And the fact that you’re all sisters adds a whole different layer to the situation. You’re not just members of a group - you’ve been together all your lives!
Denise Definitely. The thing is, you can have an argument with your sister, and it can be heated, but it’s over the next day. If you’re in a group, sometimes it can destroy the group if you’re not family. Whereas family can get over things quickly.
Funnily enough, we didn’t have a lot of arguments on the cruise. Why we did might have been a little tiff about when we were singing. 'Oh you sang a wrong harmony!’ ‘No, you did!’ That kind of thing. But that took me back to when we were kids, so I loved that. The nostalgia side of it.
But no, we’re just fortunate. Five sisters who are just able to go off on a cruise ship like that. And get paid for it! What’s not to love?
You’re originally from Dublin, where many of you were born, before the family emigrated to Blackpool. Whereabouts in Raheny did you guys live?
Anne We lived on Maryville Road, St Anne’s Estate. We went to school in St Anne’s primary school, in the village.
We were all very young. I was about ten when we went to Blackpool, so Denise was about eight when we left Raheny.
We also had relatives in Ballyfermot, and we lived in Finglas before we moved to Raheny.
Finally, what the hell are youse going to do this time around on The Nolans Go Cruising?
Linda Because it was like a staycation - you know, the weather wasn’t great on the ship - we could only get off in two places: Belfast and Scotland.
This one is more in-depth actually. We do talk deeper. There’s one situation where we’re in the spa, we’re all on beds in dressing gowns, and we just left the camera running. And we just started talking about things that we hadn’t really mentioned to each other.
And we realised that things that had happened when we were young had effected us, had effected the way that we feel about certain things.
It’s also great fun. It shows us using the ship more. For example, going into the games room. Anne had a swimming lesson because she can’t swim. We had ballroom dancing lessons.
Denise We loved it, because we loved dancing. I’m just not fit anymore. I can’t speak for anyone else, but at the end of it I could hardly walk! I loved every minute of it, but God I’m so unfit!
The Nolans Go Cruising, 9.00pm, Quest Red, from Wednesday Sept 29
