Waddell Media

Four half-hours for BBC NI beginning Monday 19th July at 10.35pm

In the lead up to his wedding DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr got “a doing” from his friends, Sinn Fein MLA Barry McElduff didn’t but wishes he had.
Gloria Hunniford defied the social norm of 1960s when she married a Catholic; Marie Jones told her children if they didn’t behave a man in a van would come and take her away; Jake O’Kane once joked that there would be tourist buses running up the Falls.

These are just taste of the humorous and surprising personal stories and frank opinions shared by a host of well known contributors from the worlds of TV, sport, entertainment and politics in this fast-paced four part series for BBC Northern Ireland.

Each programme shines the spotlight on a different aspect of life in Northern Ireland to reveal how our attitudes to Marriage, Children, Health and Northern Ireland itself have changed over the last forty years.

1 THE TROUBLE WITH NORTHERN IRELAND

Kicking off this new series “The Trouble with Northern Ireland” tackles the thorny issue of identity in Northern Ireland with a light hearted look at what makes us who we are, the way we speak, our sense of humour, how we see ourselves and how much Northern Ireland has changed over the last forty years.
A mixture of celebrity interviews and tv archive, contributors include Gloria Hunniford, Dennis Taylor, Orlaith McCallister, Ian Paisley Jr, Jake O’Kane and Rose Neill.

Executive Producer Jannine Waddell
Executive Producer for the BBC Deirdre Devlin
Series Producer Jane Magowan

2 THE TROUBLE WITH MARRIAGE

What do snooker legend Dennis Taylor, broadcasters Peter Curran and Zoe Salmon and TV medic Dr Mark Hamilton think about marriage?
A host of familiar faces from the worlds of TV, music and politics spill the beans on their dating disasters, pre-wedding jitters, and how to achieve marital bliss as we reveal just how the cost of weddings, our attitudes to “mixed marriages” and divorce have changed in Northern Ireland since the 1960s.

Executive Producer Jannine Waddell
Executive Producer for the BBC Deirdre Devlin
Producer Sarah Reddin

3 THE TROUBLE WITH CHILDREN

Well-known personalities including broadcaster Marie-Louise Muir, comedian Jake O’Kane, politicians Ian Paisley Jr and Barry McElduff and sporting legend Dennis Taylor talk birth and baby names, the naughty step and terrible teens in an entertaining and fast-paced programme that mixes interviews and archive to reveal the joys and pit-falls of raising a family in Northern Ireland today.

Executive Producer Jannine Waddell
Executive Producer for the BBC Deirdre Devlin
Series Producer Jane Magowan

4 THE TROUBLE WITH HEALTH

Julian Simmons, comedian Diarmuid Corr, broadcasters Peter Curran and Rose Neill and children’s presenter Zoe Salmon are among the celebrities who lay bare their guilty secrets, diet disasters and fitness regimes in a funny and frank look at health and fitness with a Northern Irish spin.