Rip-Off Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
| Rip-Off Republic | |
| Format | Comedy |
|---|---|
| Starring | Eddie Hobbs |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Radio Telefís Éireann |
| Original run | August – September 2005 |
Rip-Off Republic was an RTÉ television show highlighting the cost of living and working in Ireland. It was presented by Eddie Hobbs and was broadcast on Mondays at 21:30 on RTÉ One during late August and early September 2005.
The show was filmed in front of a live audience at The Helix in Dublin City University. It was presented in the format of a stand-up monologue by Eddie Hobbs, with occasional inserts filmed on location. According to RTÉ [1], the programme attracted record viewing figures, with 667,000 people (51% audience share) watching the second programme in the series.
[edit] Episodes
Four programmes were aired in the series, each targeting a different area of the Irish economy:
- Groceries
- Alcohol
- Transport
- Taxation
[edit] Reaction
In August 2005, Stephen O'Byrnes, a former official of the Progressive Democrats political party, and a current member of the RTÉ Authority, made a complaint to RTÉ management, alleging that the programme was biased and lacked balance. In addition, various Fianna Fáil backbenchers were also known to be unhappy with the programme; TD for Westmeath, Donnie Cassidy, threatened to call Hobbs and RTÉ management before a committee to explain their behaviour.
On September 6, 2005, Hobbs told the Last Word programme on Today FM that he was pulling out of a planned appearance on The Late Late Show on RTÉ the following Friday, after RTÉ promoted the appearance prior to the final Rip-Off Republic programme.
It was reported in several national newspapers that RTÉ sources described the programme as a "once-off" and not likely to return. [2]
[edit] References
 |
This article about a non-fiction television series is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
