| Runtime: | 45 minutes per episode |
| Creator: | Happy Endings Productions |
| Starring: | Ed Byrne Neil Delamere Mairead Farrell Andrew Maxwell Colin Murphy Dara Ó Briain |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Network 2/RTÉ Two (2003–2008) RTÉ One (2008–2011) |
| Num Episodes: | 84 |
The Panel is a talk show produced by Happy Endings Productions for RTÉ, based on the Australian programme The Panel, produced by Working Dog Productions for Network Ten. The theme song was "Waterfall" by The Stone Roses.
Until 2006 it was hosted by Dara Ó Briain.[1] Ó Briain, having presented Echo Island, came to popular acclaim at home through his regular appearances in Don't Feed the Gondolas, a topical comedy show in the same Monday night slot on Network 2.
Recorded at various locations around Dublin—including Belvedere College's O'Reilly Theatre, Dublin City University's Helix Theatre and Blanchardstown's Draíocht Theatre—its sudden apparent cancellation in December 2005 annoyed fans but The Panel returned with a largely unchanged format in October 2006. Until early 2008 it aired on Network 2 (later RTÉ Two), usually on a Monday night. A disastrous move to RTÉ One (with the role of presenter rotated among the likes of Ray D'Arcy, Charlie Bird, and Dáithí Ó Sé) preceded the show's demise; one last run began on 7 October 2010 and ran each Thursday at 22:15 on RTÉ One until 26 January 2011, with Craig Doyle presenting.
The show had a host who chaired the discussion, along with four panellists who changed from week to week. Regular panellists included Colin Murphy, Andrew Maxwell, Neil Delamere, Mairead Farrell and Eleanor Tiernan. They discussed current events, interspersed with interviews with special guests. Panelists were typically professional comedians, and as such the show aimed for pure comedy, rather than any hybrid of discussion or analysis and topical jokes. The producers and regular performers were clear that the show was distinguished from other panel shows by the absence of games, rounds, scores or other contrivances.
Original and recurring panelists included:
The first series aired on Network 2 live from The Helix in Dublin City University (9:30 – 10:30 pm) each Monday between 15 September and 17 November 2003. It was repeated on Saturdays at 10:05 pm.[3]
The second series aired on Network 2/RTÉ Two (the channel's name changed mid-series) live from Vicar Street at 10.00 pm each Monday between 13 September and 8 November 2004. It was preceded on Monday 6 September with a Best Of… from the first series.[4] [5]
The third series aired on RTÉ Two on Sunday evenings at 9:30 in early 2005.[6] It was recorded in advance at The Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray and the O'Reilly Theatre in Belvedere College.[7]
| Date | Host | Panelists | Guests | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 October 2006 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Delamare, Murphy, Nolan | Gordon D'Arcy, Jack L | ||
| 23 October 2006 | O'Briain | Delamare, Maxwell, Murphy, Nolan | Éanna ni Lamhna, Albert Jack | Details | |
| 30 October 2006 | O'Briain | Delamare, Maxwell, Murphy, Ní Shúilleabháin | John Simpson | ||
| 6 November 2006 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Murphy, Nolan, Spain | Christopher Brookmyre, Derval O'Rourke | Details | |
| 13 November 2006 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Farrell, Maxwell, Murphy | Tom Dunne, Stephen Grey | Details | |
| 20 November 2006 | Murphy | Ed Byrne, Farrell, Delamare, Maxwell | Allen Pease, Bill O'Herlily | Details | |
| 27 November 2006 | O'Briain | Delamare, Bowman, Byrne, Murphy | Howard Marks, Jason Byrne | Details | |
| 4 December 2006 | O'Briain | Delamare, Farrell, Murphy, Maxwell, Ed Byrne | Jilly Goolden, Adrian Dooley | Details | |
| 11 December 2006 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Delamare, Murphy, Ní Shúilleabháin | Details | ||
| 18 December 2006 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Maxwell, McLynn, Murphy | Simon Delaney, Martin King | Details | |
| 27 December 2006 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Delamare, Farrell, Murphy | Éanna ni Lamhna, Mary O'Conor | Details | |
| 8 January 2007 | Murphy | J.Byrne, Delamare, Farrell, Spain | Bernard Dunne, Manchán Magan | Details | |
| 15 January 2007 | Murphy | Delamare, Farrell, Maxwell, Spain, O'Briain | Ian Robertson, Ruth Bradley | Details | |
| 22 January 2007 | Murphy | Delamare, Ní Shúilleabháin, Maxwell, Ed Byrne | David Norris, Ray D'Arcy | Details | |
| 29 January 2007 | O'Briain | Ed Byrne, Farrell, Maxwell, Murphy | Danny Baker, Ben Goldacre | Details |
In which the panellists discussed the 2007 general election. A special run of shows previewing the election, presented by Colin Murphy.
| Date | Host | Panelists | Guests | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 2007 | Murphy | Delamere, Spain, Bishop, Loughrey Grant | Philippe Legrain, David Coffey | ||
| 9 May 2007 | Murphy | Spain, Ní Shúilleabháin, Delamere, Maxwell | Details | ||
| 10 May 2007 | Details | ||||
| 16 May 2007 | Murphy | Spain, Ní Shúilleabháin, Delamere, Maxwell | Details | ||
| 23 May 2007 | Murphy | Delamere, Ní Shúilleabháin, Spain, Maxwell | Details | ||
| 30 May 2007 | Murphy | J. Bishop, Farrell, Delamere, Maxwell | Details |
When the show returned for the 2007–2008 season there was no longer a single presenter; Neil Delamere or Colin Murphy presented in the absence of Ó Briain. Ó Briain returned to present one episode during this series, marking what would be his final appearance on the show, having moved on to employment in the neighbouring United Kingdom. The company he co-founded, Happy Endings Productions, continued to produce the show, and he retained an advisory relationship. Neil Delamere hosted The Panel for the first time on 8 October 2007.
| Date | Host | Panelists | Guests | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2007 | Murphy | J. Bishop, Farrell, Delamere, Byrne | Details | ||
| 8 October 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, Maxwell | Details | ||
| 15 October 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, J. Bishop | Charley Boorman, Lisa O'Doherty | Details | |
| 22 October 2007 | O'Briain | Murphy, Byrne, Maxwell, Ní Shúilleabháin | Details | ||
| 29 October 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Maxwell, Byrne | Details | ||
| 5 November 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, J. Bishop | Details | ||
| 12 November 2007 | Murphy | Maxwell, Farrell, Whelan, Byrne | Details | ||
| 19 November 2007 | Murphy | Maxwell, Ní Shúilleabháin, Delamere, Byrne | Details | ||
| 3 December 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Bishop, Byrne | Details | ||
| 10 December 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, Maxwell | Details | ||
| 17 December 2007 | Murphy | Maxwell, Farrell, Whelan, Delamere | Feargus O'Sullivan, René Caroyel | Details | |
| 27 December 2007 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, Byrne | Details | ||
| 7 January 2008 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, Byrne | Details | ||
| 14 January 2008 | Delamere | Murphy, Farrell, Whelan, Maxwell | Details | ||
| 21 January 2008 | Murphy | Maxwell, Farrell, Delamere, J. Bishop | Details | ||
| 28 January 2008 | Murphy | Whelan, Farrell, Delamere, Maxwell | Details |
RTÉ moved The Panel to RTÉ One in 2008, to be shown on Thursday evenings. In addition, RTÉ deployed a different presenter for each episode – these included Ray D'Arcy, Charlie Bird, Dáithí Ó Sé and Craig Doyle, the latter of whom was given the role on a more permanent basis before The Panel was brought to an end, all humour eked out of it. The first RTÉ One episode was, in what would become commonplace, criticised for being too serious; the panellists blamed this on their new setting.[8]
In September 2008, RTÉ moved The Panel to its flagship television channel RTÉ One. A 14-episode run was announced, to begin airing on that channel at 22.15 on 30 October with a new presenter. Several prominent Irish broadcasters were screen-tested to fill the role of presenter, but a combination of unfortunate factors meant that show returned with rotating guest hosts, rather than any one person in a permanent position. Shortly before the airdate, RTÉ changed its schedules and the series began on 6 November at 22.15 with its original timescale of 45 minutes. Ray D'Arcy was the guest presenter for the week and was followed by a string of others including Gráinne Seoige, Dáithí Ó Sé, Marty Whelan, Charlie Bird, Phill Jupitus and Pauline McLynn. Producer Seamus Cassidy told The Irish Times that ""a reasonably big name, a very big name actually" would take over as permanent anchor in January 2009.[9] On 23 November 2008, the Sunday Tribune reported that comedian Ardal O'Hanlon would be announced as the new permanent host.[10] Former presenter Ó Briain indicated his awareness of the presenter in question, and was quoted as saying on a breakfast radio show that "HE is very funny" but refused to discuss the matter any further.[11] However, in early 2009 it emerged there would be a further delay in obtaining a permanent host for "at least another couple of weeks", with Craig Doyle presenting the first show of the new year.[12] In the event, the guest host format continued for the entire 2008–2009 series. Following a short run with David McWilliams at the helm in 2009, the show was thought to have been de-commissioned. However, at the launch of RTÉ's Autumn schedule in August 2010, Craig Doyle was announced as presenter for a new run of 14 shows.[13]
| Date | Host | Panelists | Guests | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 November 2008 | Murphy, Delamere, J. Regan, Ní Shúilleabháin | Details | |||
| 13 November 2008 | Murphy, Farrell, Delamere, Maxwell | Details | |||
| 20 November 2008 | Delamere, Farrell, J. Regan, Maxwell | Details | |||
| 27 November 2008 | Murphy, Delamere, Ní Shúilleabháin, Coppinger | Details | |||
| 4 December 2008 | Maxwell, Ní Shúilleabháin, Spain, Delamere | Details | |||
| 11 December 2008 | Murphy, Farrell, Delamere, Maxwell | Details | |||
| 18 December 2008 | Diarmuid Gavin | Murphy, Tobin, Whelan, Delamere | Details |
| Date | Host | Panelists | Guests | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 December 2008 | Pauline McLynn | Murphy, Ní Shúilleabháin, Delamere, Maxwell | David Van Day, Derry Clarke | Details |
| Date | Host | Panelists | Guests | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 January 2009 | Murphy, Delamere, Alan Shortt, Maxwell | Karl Henry and Shane O'Donoghue | Details | ||
| 15 January 2009 | Murphy, Alan Shortt, Whelan, Delamere | Details | |||
| 22 January 2009 | Murphy, Delamere, Alan Shortt, Maxwell | Details | |||
| 29 January 2009 | Murphy, Delamere, O'Rourke, Maxwell | Details | |||
| 5 February 2009 | Delamere, Alan Shortt, Gildea, Maxwell | Details | |||
| 12 February 2009 | Will Leahy | Murphy, Delamere, Farrell, Maxwell | Patrick Bergin, Niall O'Farrell |
On 4 June 2011, Andrew Maxwell, one of the regular panellists said on Twitter that the show had been cancelled.[16] The following day, RTÉ posted a headline confirming that the show had been cancelled; it read: "I can confirm that 'The Panel' won't be returning to our screens this autumn. The show has enjoyed nine seasons, the first six on RTÉ Two and the three most recent on RTÉ One".[17]
The show was performed live to full houses in the Olympia Theatre from 11 to 13 September 2007 as part of the Bulmers Comedy Festival. These shows, following the format of the television show but with a longer running time and stronger language, were chaired by Colin Murphy and were not recorded for television.
A DVD, The Panel – The Best of..., was released in December 2008.[18]
As part of RTÉ Does Comic Relief, a telethon event that took place on 26 June 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 Crisis, a mockumentary on the history of The Panel featured interviews from Dara Ó Briain, and panellists Ed Byrne, Neil Delamere, Mairead Farrell, Andrew Maxwell and Colin Murphy as well as guests Adam Hills and David Mitchell.[19]