On the couch . . . With radio broadcaster Alison Curtis
From Canada, Alison Curtis moved to Ireland in 1999. She has hosted radio shows on Phantom FM and Today FM, and been a judge of the Choice Music Prize. Alison now presents the Weekend Breakfast show on Today FM every Saturday and Sunday
How much TV do you think you watch every week?
I go through periods of not watching any, then I binge-watch something. At the moment that’s Derry Girls – it is absolutely brilliant. I am also a huge fan of Dancing with the Stars and have watched that every single Sunday evening.
Are you a “telly on, laptop on the knees and phone for tweeting” overload kind of person?
Depends on the show. I love tweeting while rugby is on and DWTS. Most of the time I just watch though (with the phone not too far away…)
Canadian teen drama Degrassi Junior High was very popular in Ireland in the ’80s – were you a fan?
OMG yes! It was our national duty to love it. It started before I got to high school so I thought all secondary schools were like Degrassi! Turns out they kinda are.
What are your unmissable shows right now?
I really love Derry Girls, and I was late to Catastrophe so am watching both of those at the moment. My absolute favourite show of all time is Mad Men, which I am starting to re-watch. You can’t go wrong with Fargo either, each series has been amazing.
Were there any TV characters who inspired you as a kid?
I loved Dorothy from The Golden Girls, because she was a no-nonsense lady but also very kind. I also liked all the characters in The Facts of Life because they represented so many di erent young women. I’ve always been a big fan of SNL and throughout the years they’ve had some seriously impressive female cast members, and I loved Gilda Radner when I was growing up.
I am not a big reality TV fan and haven’t followed many, if any, talent competition type shows i.e. anything Simon Cowell has done.
Which is better: Aaron Sorkin’s US drama The Newsroom, or Canadian cringe-comedy cult classic The Newsroom?
Shame on me, I don’t know the Canadian cult classic! But a current Canadian show everyone should get on board with is Schitt’s Creek: it is hysterical and stars the truly hilarious Catherine O’Hara.
What shows do you watch the old-fashioned way, i.e. once a week at a particular time?
Dancing With The Stars. We also had to wait each week for crime drama Taken Down last year; that was kind of strange that we couldn’t watch it on demand.
Who’d be in your dream band, comprising fictional TV characters?
Peggy from Mad Men, Rose from Golden Girls, Liz Lemon from 30 Rock and Alec Baldwin as anything!
What huge watercooler show have you not seen?
Game of Thrones. I’m too far behind to play catch-up, unless I want to become a hermit and get someone else to mind my kid so I can get up to speed. But because of this I am left out of a lot of conversations.