Twelve years ago, urban soap Fair City was launched to a lukewarm reception from viewers and much critical disdain. Now it is set to become a record-breaking Irish soap, after completing the filming of its 1,000th instalment this week. Although Glenroe ran over a longer period of years, its once-a-week outing meant fewer episodes. Fair City's growth in output from twice to four times a week has been matched by a steady growth in popularity - it now averages an audience of 650,000 an episode. The soap recently received its highest rating: of 840,000 viewers, when Billy Meehan (Stuart Dunne) was killed in the climax of one of the soap's most dramatic storylines. Just five of the original cast members remain as part of the 40-strong team of actors. Executive producer Niall Mathews says: "It's great to celebrate our 1,000th birthday. Fair City is going from strength to strength with stories that attempt to keep pace with a rapidly changing Ireland." The 1,000th episode will be broadcast on Thursday, January 17th.
RT╔ television is to devote much of its New Year's Day schedule to celebrating its 40th birthday. TΘlΘf∅s ╔ireann went on air on New Year's Eve 1961 with a live broadcast from the Gresham Hotel in Dublin. A half-hour programme - The Opening Night - looks back at the big night, using a mix of archive footage and interviews with those who were there. Meet the People reunites three presenters from the first night - Kathleen Watkins, Marie O'Sullivan and Nuala Donnelly. The Big 4.0 brings together an audience which shares the same birthday as RT╔ and is hosted by 40-year-old Sean Moncrieff. Later, Gerry Ryan's Hitlist will bring us what's described as "the good, the great and the unforgivable performances" from RT╔'s music archives. Throughout the day on RT╔ 1 and Network 2, snippets from viewers talking about the part TV has played in their lives will be interspersed with programming.
An Irish animation series has been picked up by the Discovery Channel in the UK for broadcast in the New Year. Why? is a 24 x two-minute animated series created for pre-school children and made by Dublin company Brown Bag Films. It started life as an insert into the RT╔ children's programme The Morbegs and was later broadcast by Channel 5. The series answers simple questions posed by two young children, such as "Why do birds fly?", "Why do I have a nose?" and "Why do I have to brush my teeth?" Discovery said: "We are really pleased to find a quality pre-school programme with a unique approach to answering all the questions small children have about the world they live in." Channel 5 has recently commissioned a new series from the same team entitled How?
BBC News has appointed a new correspondent to its Dublin office. James Helm, originally from Yorkshire, will take up the position in February 2002.
He joined the BBC in 1994 as a reporter and has worked for Radio 5 Live, Breakfast News and the BBC political unit at Westminster. Asked how he felt about moving to Dublin, he said he was "looking forward to it enormously".
Graham Norton is hotly tipped to collect the award for Best Comedy Entertainment Personality for the second year running at the British Comedy Awards in London tonight. The alternative-chat-show host is nominated in this category along with TV and radio presenter Jonathan Ross and comedian Frank Skinner. Norton's Channel 4 show, So Graham Norton, is also up for the Best Comedy Entertainment Programme award, competing against BBC One's Have I Got News For You and ITV's Frank Skinner Show. The awards ceremony is hosted by Jonathan Ross and will be shown live on ITV tonight at 9 p.m.
After months of speculation as to who would succeed Michael Jackson, Channel 4 has finally appointed a new chief executive. Mark Thompson resigned his position as the BBC's director of television this week to take up the job which has been vacant since Jackson left to take up a position in the US last July. Thompson has spent all his working life at the BBC, joining the corporation in 1979 as a production trainee. He spent much of his early career in news and current affairs, editing and producing Panorama and the Nine O'Clock News before being appointed head of factual programmes in 1994.
Later, during his time as controller of BBC2, the channel scored a number of critical successes with series such as The Cops, The Royle Family and The Fast Show. Thompson has so far remained tight-lipped about his plans for Channel 4, but he has named Big Brother, So Graham Norton and the documentary series The Six Wives of Henry VIII as examples of what Channel 4 does best.
mkearney@irish-times.com