Ireland's Fittest Family returns with some brand new coaches

RTÉ News​

13 hours ago

RTÉ has announced its upcoming slate of video content, taking viewers from Autumn 2025 to Spring 2026 across RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
In the Lifestyle sphere, audiences will welcome the return of Ireland's Fittest Family - a long-running series that sees families from around the country compete in an incredible obstacle course of physical and mental challenges.
Hosted once again by Laura Fox, the Sunday evening favourite is bringing some brand-new coaches and a revamped format.
The newcomers are: Ellen Keane, Paralympic swimming champion and inspirational trailblazer; Michael Darragh MacAuley, former Dublin GAA star and winner of eight All-Ireland Medals; and Andrew Trimble, Irish rugby legend with 70 caps to his name.
They'll be taking on the original coaching legends, returning for series 13: Anna Geary, Donncha O'Callaghan and reigning Fittest Family Champ Davy Fitzgerald, in a fierce contest to mentor the nation's fittest families. This year's competition also features epic new locations across the country.
With Ireland targeting 300,000 new homes by 2030, housing continues to be a huge area of interest to the Irish public. This year, RTÉ will delve into various aspects of housing, whether it be interiors and celebrity spaces to searching for hidden gems, and tackling budgets.
Who's Building Ireland? goes behind the scenes of the nation's construction boom to meet the real people making it happen. From crane operators and family-run trades to migrant workers and apprentices, the documentary reveals the human stories driving one of the country's most critical industries.
DIY SOS: The Big Build Ireland takes on challenges in Mooncoin, Kilkenny, Clarecastle, Clare, Tallaght, Dublin and Wicklow Town. Fronted by Baz Ashmawy, volunteer builders, labourers, trades, suppliers, friends and neighbours come together - giving their time, labour and materials free gratis - to help families in real need.
In Home Rescue: The Big Fix, designer Dee Coleman, builder Pete Finn, and declutter expert Aidan Gately are on hand to help people declutter and improve their homes on a tight budget. The team are joined by fitters, painters, chippies and clutter busters as they fight to complete each makeover in just a few days.
In Room to Improve, Dermot Bannon battles rising building costs and tight budgets as he undertakes four exciting new builds around Ireland under the ever-watchful eye of quantity surveyor Claire Irwin. From a semi-d to a bungalow to a terraced home – each episode will be packed with big dreams and even bigger design challenges.
Elsewhere, Dermot will step into the homes of well-known celebrities in Dermot Bannon's Celebrity Super Spaces. Exploring personal stories behind the renovations, restorations and extensions, viewers will peek inside the colourful interiors of Joanne McNally's apartment in London, and Clodagh McKenna's stunning countryside home in Hampshire.
Cheap Irish Homes with Maggie Molloy and new building expert, Tadhg Casey, travel the highways and byways of Ireland, helping people find their ideal property.
In Heat My Home, building engineer Kieran McCarthy travels around Ireland, checking out homes that are attempting to secure energy upgrades by taking on retrofit challenges. With prices only going up and the planet under pressure, more people are trying to save money and energy in their own homes by taking on the retrofit challenge. From heat pumps to HVAC, Kieran will break down the technical jargon and make sense of all the retrofit lingo so it's easy to follow.
The Great House Revival also returns in 2026, breathing new life into our built heritage.
Build Your Own Home returns to chart the mammoth challenges faced by families as they set out to build and renovate their own homes under the watchful eye of master builder Harrison Gardner. He supports the families, shares his expertise, and teaches homeowners to build or renovate their own dream home on a budget.
Elsewhere on the schedule, Maitre D' Mateo Sania will return to the First Dates restaurant along with Alice and Pete, and barman Neil. Here, singletons will have the chance to find romance, whether they're young, old, shrinking violets or strutting peacocks.
Today will return in the afternoons live from RTÉ Cork for its 14th season, while Donal Skehan immerses himself in the culture, traditions and beliefs of Ireland's minority faiths in Donal's Festival Kitchen.
Another returning favourite includes Keys to my Life, a series that follows eight of Ireland's 'national treasures', as they revisit the homes and places that have shaped their lives. Series five includes Jim Sheridan, Dónal Óg Cusack, Sandy Kelly and Tony Holohan.