Irish Independent Entertainment

11/01/2026

Love Island: All Stars halts production as wildfires rage near South African villa

10/01/2026

Spending on unscripted shows could more than treble to €300m per year under the new proposals that aim to put us in the same sphere as the Netherlands, which has given the world television delights like ‘Big Brother’ and ‘The Masked Singer’

It all started with Candid Camera. The 1950s US hidden camera programme was revolutionary as it made real people the stars, and their unscripted and instinctive reactions the highlight. From that one show, a new genre emerged – unscripted programming or reality TV.

09/01/2026

Folk singer Peggy Seeger and actor Ricky Tomlinson will be among the guests on The Late Late Show Irish traditional music special

Folk singer Peggy Seeger and actor Ricky Tomlinson will be among the guests on The Late Late Show Irish traditional music special.

09/01/2026

'It’s easy to see why people get so hooked on the experience. You are the centre of their universe, and they are utterly fascinated by your every thought; your AI friend is always there to make you feel heard and understood'

The rose-tinted glasses afforded to us by the festive season were ripped off in an instant last week with the reports that Elon Musk’s Grok AI was generating sexualised images for users requesting the chatbot to digitally remove clothes from photos.

09/01/2026

'Your music, spanning seven decades, has been and remains an inspiration to all of us': President Catherine Connolly presents Peggy Seeger (90) with TradFest lifetime achievement award

Ninety-year-old musician Peggy Seeger had some words of encouragement as she received a lifetime achievement award at the launch of TradFest 2026 in Dublin, telling attendees: “You’re going to the top, ladies.”

09/01/2026

'At first everybody thought Leonard Cohen had written it. You would go on YouTube and you’d see the comments ­beneath Woke Up This Morning. People didn’t know it was us'

Rob Spragg, aka Larry Love, lead singer of electronic mavericks Alabama 3, looks every inch the alternative acid-house demigod. His friend Irvine Welsh once described him as “a man who still looks as if a ray of sunlight will combust him”. His relationship with the light of the day hasn’t chan...

08/01/2026

Chris Wasser: The night Jessie Buckley came to our awards, and why industry insiders are tipping her for the big prize https://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/chris-wasser-the-night-jessie-buckley-came-to-our-awards-and-why-industry-insiders-are-tipping-her-for-the-big-prize/a196478305.html

08/01/2026

Who's next to go?

The fate of four contestants hangs in the balance as The Traitors’ latest murder victim is poised to be revealed in the next instalment of the hit BBC show.

08/01/2026

Deirdre Reynolds: Sex-starved Irish women are choosing ‘male gays’ over the ‘male gaze’ https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/deirdre-reynolds-sex-starved-irish-women-are-choosing-male-gays-over-the-male-gaze/a1156780072.html

08/01/2026

'The first episode on RTÉ One concentrated mainly on the A&E of CUH. Unfortunately for any resident of the Republic, it bore little resemblance to our own experiences...'

It’s a safe bet that there isn’t a big hospital on this island that hasn’t been asked to let multiple cameras into their building, to deliver a full body scan. Do most of the hospitals say no? Or are they, like the rest of the country, gagging for a bit of publicity?

07/01/2026

Buckley gives a blistering performance as a 16th-century woman experiencing childbirth and child loss

Jessie Buckley gives a great acceptance speech, we learned at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards. Resplendent in Dior, the Co Kerry actor (36) accepted the award for Actress for her performance in Hamnet. Along with heartfelt compliments for her director Chloe Zhao, she had some poetic words for her co-...

07/01/2026

The last episode, which aired on Saturday night, saw the mysterious red-cloaked traitor make their way to the turret

The secret traitor is poised to be revealed as The Traitors returns for its next instalment.