Luke Skywalker beams in to planet Zog as the Force returns to The Den
THEY say you should never meet your heroes but alien puppets Zig and Zag are known for not adhering to social norms. So tonight’s final instalment of The Den will be a star-studded show of inter-galactic proportions as Luke Skywalker himself will be landing virtually in the RTÉ studios to appear on the TV show.
Hollywood star Mark Hamill has held a lifelong affection for Ireland since his first visit in 1970 when he was shooting the action film The Big Red One.
Hamill returned in 2015 to touch down on Skellig Michael to play Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars hit movie, The Last Jedi.
At the time, Hamill spoke of his grá for Ireland, saying: ‘People here are so warm and friendly.’
So it remains to be seen if Zig & Zag can undo decades of affection for the country and its people as the two puppets have gained something of a reputation for rudeness.
But, as other celebrities who have appeared on the show can attest, their ribbing is goodnatured and all visitors to The Den have left relatively unscathed.
In fact, it is the jokes, banter and mood-raising tone of the revised series of The Den that has made it a such a stratospheric success.
The RTÉ series, hosted by Ray Darcy and his sidekick puppets Zig, Zag and Dustin the Turkey, is drawing an average 265,000 viewers per show. It peaked at 340,000 and has dipped since, but remains a viewing hit and has endeared The Den to a new generation.
The producers have ventured far beyond the Montrose campus to book some big and interesting guests for the show.
Recent weeks have featured
Stephen Fry, Niall Horan and other names that are not on the regular RTÉ guest roster. The return of the 1980s children’s show that launched the careers of Ian Dempsey and Ray Darcy has been hailed by some as ‘just what the country needs’ for some relief from the backdrop of bad news.
One viewer wrote: ‘The Den makes me love our little country so much. It’s just… mad.
‘I can’t believe that instead of the over-produced, rehearsed to bits polished TV shows, we got a sarcastic rude turkey and his pals.’
Another fan wrote: ‘The thing about #TheDen is the tone is perfect because they didn’t change anything.’ A third wrote: ‘They didn’t update it mess with our memories & that’s why it works so well.’
Host Ray Darcy has garnered rave reviews after returning to his roots from the Saturday night chat slot, which is currently chaired by comedian Deirdre O’Kane.
An RTÉ spokesman told the Irish Mail on Sunday that the figures prove that the return has been welcomed, capturing 25% of the nightly average audience share.
‘Everyone is delighted with the reaction. But as of yet there are no definite plans for a permanent return, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be back,’ they said.