''Victoria and Shane Grow Their Own'' is an Irish

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

special which originally aired on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

on Tuesday 8 December 2009. It follows the trials of

Victoria Mary Clarke Victoria Mary Clarke (born 11 January 1966) is an Irish journalist and writer. She has written for various newspapers and magazines in Britain and Ireland. Early life Clarke grew up in the Irish countryside. Her mother was born in Herbert Par ...

and

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

as they endeavour to grow their own food in their own garden. The show documents Clarke's struggles to grow vegetables and MacGowan's attempts to assist. Filming of the special took place in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. It has been compared to the 1970s sitcom '' The Good Life''. MacGowan is from an agricultural background.

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

was said to have influenced the couple. Victoria Mary Clarke admitted during the show that she had neither read nor bought the book she was supposed to use for assistance. She also spoke of her belief in angels and how she spoke to them. Clarke's friend, a Marina Guinness, provides her with an allotment to carry out her task. A celebration is also expected to take place when the crops have grown sufficiently. The potatoes which Clarke is attempting to grow turn black. Caterpillars which attack her food are thrown to the hens as food themselves. Various celebrities and well-known people also featured, including musician Glen Hansard, and cousins of British pop star Lily Allen made an appearance as well. A container of urine belonging to Shane MacGowan was auctioned by Clarke as the show drew to a close. The show was narrated by

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...

, using an ironic tone. Clarke also wrote about her experiences in the '' Sunday Independent''. Pat Stacey, reviewer for the '' Evening Herald'' newspaper, gave the show one star out of five, calling it "a disjointed and rushed production" and questioning where the plot had been. Hilary Fannin, reviewer for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' newspaper, called the entire premise an "anarchic idea", satirically suggesting it was time for

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...

to move on as a replacement had been found.

Olaf Tyaransen Olaf Tyaransen (born 10 February 1971 in Dublin) is an Irish journalist and a contributing editor with Dublin's ''Hot Press'' magazine. Career Tyaransen was born in Dublin on 10 February 1971." His family moved to Galway in 1977,Lendennie, Jess ...

called it "an enjoyable hour of television". Dave O'Connell, reviewer for '' The Connacht Sentinel'', "watched gobsmacked and cringed quite a bit", though later admitted the show had been "compulsive viewing".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
2009 Irish television series debuts Irish reality television series RTÉ original programming