TV host Dermot Bannon has revealed hit show Room To Improve will continue to air until 2024.
The celebrity architect has revealed the RTE One series – which returns this Sunday night – will continue to air well into next year.
Dermot revealed to us: “There’s more in the pipeline. We’re working on projects for 2024.
READ MORE: Drunken Ryanair passenger who was disruptive on flight from Spain jailed
“What we’ve done now is we used to have an 18-month lead time on the show so we’d have a show out in January and then the next series would go out the following September so what we’re doing now is it is rolling a bit more.
“We’re going to put out four episodes every January. I think people love it in January. The Christmas decorations come down and people start looking at their house. I think people love that kind of show at that time in the year.
“January, people start thinking about the changes they’re going to make and they’re watching the health cookery shows as well as Operation Transformation. Room To Improve falls into that category.
“They’re drawn to it more than they would be Christmas Eve,” he added.
This Sunday, Dermot meets engaged couple Conor and Amy as they take on to renovate a derelict farmhouse in Tullamore in Offaly.
Conor who works for the Irish Army as a training officer, asked his friend Ronan from White Construction to undertake the big job. Their budget is very tight, to renovate the old farm dwelling and incorporate a contemporary extension to the side of the house is going to cost a total of €325,000.
Due to the deep rooted family connection associated with the farmhouse, Conor insisted that the original traditional building keep its charming layout but be totally upgraded and that the extension compliment the old farmhouse façade.
Throughout the build the couple encountered a lot of stress and unforeseen problems, Covid lockdowns and then Conor being called away to serve in Kosovo for six months during construction.
It was Amy, who is originally from Cork, who had to take on the entire project management of the build while Conor was abroad.
While Dermot was on board to support and steer Amy, he encountered the added difficulty of the couple having two different styles. Conor wanting a cosy home and Amy wanting a modern contemporary abode, navigating through compromises between the two was no easy feat! However, the project resulted in a spectacular build with two extremely satisfied clients.
Speaking ahead of the first episode, Dermot said: “The first episode is gorgeous. Conor inherited his granny’s old farmhouse and what really makes it is the setting.
"It’s down the end of a lane, you go through the trees… as it stood, it was gorgeous and even though there was no windows in it, the place was in rack and ruin. My job was not to destroy that feeling.
“The yard itself. You know those old farmyards, where you are completely surrounded by stone buildings.. they have a view of the canal in Tullamore. It was the most gorgeous setting.
“Conor knew what Conor wanted. It was funny. The youngest couple of the series was pushing the biggest boulder up the hill. That’s why it’s going out on episode one,” he added.
Room To Improve airs this Sunday on RTE One at 9:35pm.
READ NEXT:
To get the latest news from at home and abroad, visit our homepage
