Celebrity Bainisteoir

Celebrity Bainisteoir
Created by	Animo Television/Kite Entertainment
Country of origin	Ireland
No. of seasons	5
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Original network	RTÉ One
Original release	23 March 2008 – 2012

Celebrity Bainisteoir was a prime-time reality programme broadcast by RTÉ and produced by Animo Television/Kite Entertainment. Created by Fiona Looney, it involved a number of celebrities competing against each other as Gaelic football team coaches or bainisteoir.

During and after its eight-part original run in 2008, the "hugely popular RTÉ Television tournament" was widely mentioned in the media including such newspapers such as An Phoblacht,The Belfast Telegraph, the Evening Echo, the Irish Examiner, the Irish Independent, the Irish News and The Irish Times. During the first series, a pop culture website asked its readers "If you weren’t watching Celebrity Bainisteoir last night, then where were you?"

In the wake of the successful first series, the Evening Herald of Dublin reported in September 2008 that RTÉ was seeking out a new set of celebrities for a second series of Celebrity Bainisteoir set to air in summer 2009, and that a Celebrity Bainisteoir special would air during the Christmas season in 2008. The second series began on 22 March 2009. The Series was axed in 2013 and replaced with "Ireland's Fittest Family".

In the series, eight non-sporting Irish 'celebrities' (see references) take the place of Gaelic Athletic Association bainisteoirí and compete against one another as the managers of intermediate-level Gaelic football teams. Each contestant managed a club from his or her home county. According to an RTÉ executive: 'Celebrity Bainisteoir is a refreshingly Irish take on reality television. Clashing the local passions of grass-roots GAA with the very different worlds of our eight celebrity team leaders, it looks like there'll be drama both on and off the pitch.' As described by one of the producers of the programme:

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