Ryantown was an RTÉ television

RTÉ Television

RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...

 light entertainment

Light entertainment

Light entertainment is a term used to describe a broad range of usually televisual performances. These include comedies, variety shows, quiz/game shows, sketch shows and people/surprise shows.-Light entertainment in Britain:...

 show hosted by Gerry Ryan

Gerry Ryan

Gerard "Gerry" Ryan was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann...

 that was broadcast on Saturday evenings for one series between 1993 and 1994. It was set in Gerry Ryan’s house in the fictional Ryantown. The show was broadcast during the autumn-spring season.

History

Following on from an earlier Saturday night show Secrets, RTÉ devised a new vehicle for Gerry Ryan. The target audience for Ryantown was teenagers and twenty-somethings. Producer Julie Parsons described it as a “family show” set in a house in which “neighbours drop in and people sit around and cook and watch TV” with the TV content being provided by Ryantown News, with its anchor Reggie Ryan, Gerry Ryan’s “twin brother.” Each week a real couple’s wedding video was featured and Brendan Donoghue did surprise outside broadcasts. The show was described as Secrets 2 and a mixture of Noel's House Party

Noel's House Party

Noel's House Party was a BBC television light entertainment show hosted by Noel Edmonds that was broadcast live on Saturday evenings throughout the 1990s. It was set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo. The show was broadcast during the...

and The Big Breakfast

The Big Breakfast

The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...

.

Production

Ryantown was broadcast on RTÉ One

RTÉ One

RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

 on Saturday evenings from 7:05 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The show was recorded on the previous Tuesday before broadcast in Studio 1 in the RTÉ Television Centre

RTÉ Television Centre

RTÉ Television Centre is a television studio complex which is owned by Radio Telefís Éireann and has been home to the national broadcaster of Ireland since 1961. It is situated at Montrose, Donnybrook, Dublin 4...

 at Donnybrook

Donnybrook

Donnybrook may refer to:Placenames* Donnybrook, Dublin, Ireland** site of the original Donnybrook Fair***donnybrook is a brawl - named for the fair** Donnybrook Stadium, Ireland, a rugby union stadium...

, Dublin 4

Dublin 4

Dublin 4 is a postal district of Dublin, Ireland including the suburbs of Sandymount, Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Ringsend and Irishtown on the South side of Dublin....

.

Criticism

Described as a "dog's dinner" and derided as "the low-point of Gerry Ryan's TV career which has never hit the heights", the show's main running gag was that Ryan had a disobedient dog. Brenda Donoghue would arrive on the doorsteps of householders with a roving camera and there was also an identity parade dubbed "Who's Married to Who?". Ryantown was named thereafter as one of the "Top 10 Worst Irish TV Programmes" by the Irish Independent

Irish Independent

The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

and Ryan was later to admit that it was all horribly "half-baked" and "should have been taken off the air after a few shows". .

The presenter describes Ryantown as "the worst television experience I've ever had in my entire life", with producer Julie Parsons (who had previously worked on The Gay Byrne Hour) nearly having a nervous breakdown, according to Ryan. He described RTÉ as "extremely unhelpful".

"Suggestions would arrive at our production meetings: maybe Gerry should wear a hat. Maybe Gerry should sit down. Maybe Gerry should run around more."

Ryan unsuccessfully pleaded with RTÉ to cancel midway through the series.