Tommy Tiernan Show returns with live audience

There will be plenty of local interest on RTE this weekend as The Tommy Tiernan show makes it's return to RTE1 at 9.40p on Saturday January 7 with a live audience.

The show which sees the Navan native interview guests whose identity remains unknown until the last minute also features Kells comedian Fred Cooke as compere.

Now in its seventh season, it is one of RTE's most popular shows and made headlines last year when it was revealed that it has surpassed The Late Late Show in viewership figures, with over 400,000 people tuning in.

Speaking ahead of the shows being aired Tommy said: “The show is in many ways so unpredictable that it’s impossible to tell people what to expect. It’s like going to a party and not knowing who’s going to be there.

The only thing that I know for sure is that both myself and the guest are up for a conversation but where that conversation might go is anybody’s guess. There’s a studio audience there this year so how that extra energy in the room affects the chat will be interesting to see. I sincerely hope that whatever happens on the night will continue to be of interest and entertainment to the Irish public. Many thanks for watching so far."

Elsewhere Kells woman and lead singer of Ham Sandwich Niamh Farrell will be appearing on the Late Late Show along side other muscians to mark Nollaig Na mBan. She will be joined by Pamela Connolly (Pillow Queens), Krea (Wyvern Lingo), Faye O’Rourke (Soda Blonde), Saibh Skelly and Susan O’Neill. They will perform Sinead O’Connor’s anthemic hit Mandinka with the Theodora Byrne choir and an all-female band.