''Livin' with Lucy'' is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

television programme presented by

Lucy Kennedy Lucy Kennedy ( ga, Lusaí Ní Chinnéide; born 21 April 1976) is an Irish television and radio presenter. Kennedy first came to public attention from co-hosting ''The Podge and Rodge Show'' on RTÉ Two. She has also presented dating show ''The ...

. First aired on 14 April 2008, the premise of the show is that Kennedy spends a weekend living with a different celebrity each episode, analysing their daily lives and interviewing them in their own homes all the while with cameras filming in the background. The show aired originally on

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

on Monday nights at 21:30. The programme has proven controversial, with Kennedy being stalked by paparazzi and some of the celebrities airing slanderous views. Series two began on 20 October 2008. Series three began to air on

on Thursday 11 November 2010 and ended on 16 December 2010.

Episodes on RTÉ

Series 1

Series one began on 14 April 2008. During filming of the show Kennedy was hunted by the paparazzi and subjected to vicious photography and googling when she stayed with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

tabloid fodder

Jade Goody Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English television personality. She came to public prominence in 2002 when she appeared on the third series of the Channel 4 reality show '' Big Brother''. She went on to s ...

. She encountered controversy whilst staying with

Samantha Mumba Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) is an Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single "Gotta Tell You", which ...

when the singer launched a verbal attack on Irish radio presenter

Dave Fanning David Fanning (born 27 February 1956) is an Irish television and radio broadcaster, rock journalist, DJ, film critic and author. Fanning currently hosts weekend midday magazine/chat show ''The Dave Fanning Show'' on the Irish national radio sta ...

, calling him a number of unprintable expletives. David Norris was said to have commented: "I tire out people half my age. I had Lucy Kennedy staying with me for her ''Livin' with Lucy'' series and she had to go to bed for a week afterwards."

Series 2

Series two began on 20 October 2008. In the first episode presenter Lucy Kennedy spent three days with

Shane Lynch Shane Eamon Mark Stephen Lynch (born 3 July 1976) is an Irish singer, but best known as a member of Boyzone. In recent years, he has taken up auto racing, participated in reality shows such as '' Celebrity Big Brother'' in 2018 and appeared as ...

in his caravan in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. Don Baker enticed Kennedy into his

jacuzzi Jacuzzi Brands LLC (; ), through its subsidiaries, is a global manufacturer and distributor of branded baths, hot tubs, pools, saunas and, formerly, aircraft. Founded in 1915 by the Italian family of the same name, Jacuzzi is a federally regist ...

and she also joined him on stage to play the

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

Series 3

Series three began on 11 November 2010 and ended on 16 December 2010.

Episodes on TV3/Virgin Media

Series 1

In August 2016

TV3 (Ireland) Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...

announced they had taken over the rights of the show and changed to Living with Lucy.

Shane Long Shane Patrick Long (born 22 January 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Reading and the Republic of Ireland national team. He also played hurling for the Tipperary county team in his early ...

Kerry Katona Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona (born 6 September 1980) is a British media personality and singer. She was a member of girl group Atomic Kitten from 1998 until her first departure in 2001 and again from 2012 until her second departure in 2017. ...

and

Jedward John and Edward Grimes (born 16 October 1991), collectively known as Jedward (a portmanteau of their first names), are an Irish singing and television presenting duo. They are identical twins who first appeared as John & Edward in the sixth s ...

were among the celebrities appearing in the series.

Series 2

Series 3

In September 2018

Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 201 ...

, the new name for TV3 broadcast this series.

Series 4

Lodging with Lucy

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and various lockdown rules, Lucy Kennedy hosted a variation of the show, Lodging with Lucy, in which guests came to stay with her in a hired lodge in Meath, Ireland.

Series 5

Reception

The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' claimed self-regard was Kennedy's "most striking trait" and derided her obsession with bodily functions (" poo" and "

willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

s" are frequently mentioned). When

Calum Best Calum Milan Best (born February 6, 1981) is a British-American television personality. He is the only child of footballer George Best. Early life Best was born in San Jose, California, the son of parents from the United Kingdom: Angie Best (bo ...

announced his reasons for taking part (he wanted to "tell the Irish people what's going on -- if they watch this

shit ''Shit'' is a word considered to be vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British an ...

show."), the newspaper suggested they give him a job as a critic. It was later named by the ''Irish Independent'' as one of its six worst television programmes of 2008.

References

{{authority control 2008 Irish television series debuts Irish reality television series RTÉ original programming

Episodes on RTÉ

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Episodes on TV3/Virgin Media

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Lodging with Lucy

Series 5

Reception

See also

References