Ireland's Fittest Family returns bigger, bolder, and more competitive than ever!

Series 14 kicks off on Sunday 1 November with the Irish Navy in the brand-new location of Cork's Haulbowline Naval Base

Ireland's Fittest Family is back with a brand-new series, and this year, everything has been turned up a notch! With an exciting new location for the heats, this series promises to be the most competitive and entertaining one yet.

Returning for Series 14 are coaches Anna Geary, Donncha O'Callaghan, Davy Fitzgerald, Ellen Keane, Michael Darragh MacAuley and reigning champion Andrew Trimble. Ireland's Fittest Family returns on RT One and RT Player on Sunday 1 November at 6.30pm.

This year's competition features epic locations across the country:

The heats will unfold in the breathtaking setting of Haulbowline Naval Base in Co Cork putting families through elite-level trials.

The quarter-finals will be held in the familiar but terrifying bogs of Hell and Back in Co Wicklow.

The semi-finals will take place in the industrial-meets-historic backdrop of Drogheda Port, where strength, teamwork and endurance will be tested like never before.

The grand final will return to the majestic setting of Avondale House and its breathtaking Treetop Walk and Viewing Tower, promising a spectacular conclusion to the season.

Series host Laura Fox returns to oversee the chaos, camaraderie and competition as families from all over Ireland battle it out for the coveted title of Ireland's Fittest Family and the 15,000 prize.

Alan Tyler, RT Group Head of Entertainment and Music, said: Ireland's Fittest Family is a brilliantly smart and much-loved format which continues to unite audiences. We are delighted to have it back on screen as Laura and our terrific coaches, once again put incredible families from all over Ireland through their paces.

The heats will unfold over three weeks in the historic Haulbowline Naval Base. On each episode, two coaches will go head-to-head, leading two families each

This Sunday it's the turn of Camogie legend Anna Geary and last year's champ, former Ireland and Ulster rugby star Andrew Trimble.

Anna has the McCourt family from Cork and the Tierney family from Galway while Andrew has the Cathasaigh family from Dublin, and the McGilligan family from Derry.

All four families will battle it out for one of the three places up for grabs in the next round of the competition at Hell and Back.

This year, the events are demonstrated by members of the Irish Navy and the families must each take on a new twist - a challenge called, Raft Rage. Starting in the cold naval basin, this is a head-to-head race finishing with a rope climb from the sea onto an enormous Naval Patrol Ship.

The four families will then have their stamina tested by another new challenge Buoyzone. The four family members must transport buoys from one side of the basin to the other using a paddle board.

With the scores of the first two events are combined, the two highest-scoring families go through to the next round, and the two families at the bottom must face off in the Navy Eliminator. Here, there's a terrifying jump from a Navy ship into the water before the family must carry a Navy RHIB and climb enormous pneumatic fenders all finishing with the infamous Ireland's Fittest Family walls and ramps.

Watch Ireland's Fittest Family from Sunday, 1 November, 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player.

ENDS

Mikie O'Loughlin, RT Communications Lead

LINK:	https://about.rte.ie/2026/10/27/irelands-fittest-family-returns-bigger...
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