The Dunphy Show
| The Dunphy Show | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Light entertainment |
| Directed by | Maurice Linnane |
| Presented by | Eamon Dunphy |
| Opening theme | "I Fought the Law" |
| Composer(s) | The Clash |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jane Gogan |
| Producer(s) | Cillian Fennell |
| Location(s) | The Helix |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Production company(s) | DC Productions Double Z Enterprises |
| Distributor | TV3 (Ireland) |
| Release | |
| Original network | TV3 |
| Original release | 5 September – 12 December 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Late Late Show |
The Dunphy Show is an Irish chat show hosted by Eamon Dunphy that aired for one series on TV3 in 2003. The programme featured guest interviews, audience participation and live music from guest music groups. The Dunphy Show aired every Friday night in direct competition with The Late Late Show on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).
Since 1962, RTÉ's The Late Late Show had enjoyed total dominance of the Irish chat show market on a Saturday night and subsequently on Friday nights. In 2002, TV3 set about devising their own chat show which would go "head-to-head" and challenge RTÉ's monopoly. By the start of 2003, planning was at an advanced stage after six months of preparatory work; however, little details were revealed about the precise nature of the show or who would host. Ironically, the team behind the programme included Cillian Fennell, an ex-RTÉ producer who had worked on The Late Late Show during Gay Byrne's final season.
In May 2003, TV3 announced that former soccer player and journalist Eamon Dunphy had signed a contract to present the new show. Following the announcement the media immediately declared a "clash of the chat shows" and a clash of personalities between Dunphy and Pat Kenny. In an interview with the RTÉ Guide, Kenny described broadcasting as a "hobby for Dunphy" and that "if it goes pear-shaped for Eamon he'll write another book about Gazza or something". Former chat show host Gay Byrne said that "there wasn't enough room for two talk shows" and that TV3 would be "scalded by the experience".
The Dunphy Show made its debut at 9:00 p.m. on 5 September 2003 for an initial run of thirty programmes. The opening set of guests included former footballer Páidí Ó Sé, author Candace Bushnell, journalist Robert Fisk, jockey Kieran Fallon and Huey Morgan from the Fun Loving Criminals, while the musical guests were Joe Dolan and his band, and singer-songwriter Paul Brady. The opening programme received relatively good reviews, with Shane Hegarty of The Irish Times stating that "while there was little of the controversial Dunphy on show, there remained a real edge about the TV3 host. Ding, ding. End of round one. Kenny should be worried, Dunphy should be happy."
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