Why Dermot’s sons aren’t his biggest fans
We’re a very uncelebrity family, says Bannon, so why is he an expert on Love Island?
HE MIGHT be the nations’s favourite architect but Dermot Bannon’s youngest children have never watched their father’s TV show.
As the 12th season of Room To Improve returned to RTÉ last Sunday, Dermot revealed his two boys – James and Tom – would rather watch Baz Ashmawy in 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy instead.
‘My two youngest boys have never seen Room To Improve and it doesn’t bother them in the slightest,’ he said.
‘I tried to show it to them one time; we were on a flight to Florida for our holidays and it was on the plane on the back of the seats but they wouldn’t watch it.
‘Do you know what they watched instead? 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy...’
Humorously perturbed by his own children’s slight, the TV presenter said: ‘When they were sitting in a seat for eight hours with nothing else to do, they wouldn’t watch it!’
But he is adamant that theirs is a ‘no-notions’ household and his children are decidedly disinterested in his fame. ‘I’m no Ryan Tubridy,’ laughed Dermot. ‘The house is very, very uncelebrity.
‘They are more into the architecture than the whole celebrity thing, and when we go up to the site they like seeing all of the little features.’
In fact he blames his daughter Sarah, 14, for introducing him into the fickle world of showbiz because he is now a self-confessed expert on Love Island.
He said: ‘The reason I was watching it was because my daughter was watching it and we only have one telly so if you wanted to watch 20 minutes of TV before bed, you had to watch Love Island. So when Maura [Higgins] went into it I actually thought, “Jesus, she is great craic.” If she wasn’t in it I just don’t think I could have stomached it.
‘Sarah would say to me, “Oh my God, they have split up, and I’m like, “Sarah, they have known each other three days!”
‘She is 14; she is impressionable so we are trying to keep her on the straight and narrow and explain to her that three days is not a lifelong relationship.’
And despite being busy traversing the country and overseeing his own build on his new Dublin home, Dermot has managed to keep up with the Love Islanders since they departed the villa.
In fact he is as passionate about the show as he is about floor-toceiling windows.
He said: ‘They [Maura and Curtis] haven’t really seen each other since. Curtis has said he wouldn’t rule out a same-sex relationship in the future but he came off Love Island declaring his love for Maura, so this is only three days later so I thought, “Why are you even saying that? What you are saying is you are not even in this for the long-term.”
‘You don’t start going out with someone and say in the future: “I can see myself with such and such.” Whether that’s a man or a woman is irrelevant – you are either invested in a relationship or you’re not.
‘Maura Higgins is the antidote to everything that is going on [in the world]. She is just brilliant.’
With an average audience of 458,000 tuning into this year’s series so far, Dermot is unaffected by the huge ratings Room To Improve attracts. He is also selfdepreciating about the show’s stratospheric success.
‘I can’t claim any credit for it, it’s the homeowner sharing their journey and allowing us to be part of it,’ he said.
‘If you are to just focus on the figures then the job becomes just about that. I just go out there and try to do the best job I can.
‘But I still don’t understand why people watch the show.’
‘Jesus, Maura Higgins is great craic’
Room To Improve is on RTÉ One tonight at 9.30pm niamh.walsh@mailonsunday.ie