Kin star Clare Dunne praises Aiden Gillen’s gay gangster as RTÉ hit set for return – Sunday World
The Dubliner is set to return as grieving-mam-turned-mob-boss Amanda Kinsella in the upcoming second season of the gangland drama.
And she applauded writers for championing “inclusivity” after her character’s uncle-in-law, Frank Kinsella, played by Aidan Gillen, was shown in a steamy backseat clinch with a barman in one memorable series one episode.
“When I read it I just thought, ‘Ah, finally, that’s good’,” she said. “They’re really actually considering that that’s obviously a possibility, even in that world.
“I was just a bit like, ‘Well, that’s refreshing’. I think it’s really just positive all round.
“I mean, I think we’re all trying to improve our diversity and inclusiveness all around, right? And that’s a journey we’re all on.”
Penned by Peter McKenna and Ciaran Donnelly, the homegrown hit was just one of the programmes unveiled at Friday’s star-studded autumn schedule launch at the RDS, teasing more than 40 hours of brand new Irish drama, as well as the return of other favourites including Dancing With The Stars and Room to Improve.
Jetting in for the launch, British star Charlie Cox hinted at what viewers can expect after his character Michael Kinsella gunned down rival kingpin Eamon Cunningham (played by Ciarán Hinds) in a tense cliffhanger, which also saw Frank suffer an apparent overdose.
“It’s like one of those games in an arcade where you hit down the heads and another one pops up,” he explained. “That’s where the Kinsellas find themselves this season – where they think they’ve got rid of the big bad and then, of course, there’s all these other people and organisations and adversities that rear their ugly heads.
“It’s been fun coming back to Dublin and being recognised as a Kinsella,” added the 39-year-old, best known for playing Marvel superhero, Daredevil. “I’m so grateful that we got to come back because when we filmed in 2020 everything was shut down so I didn’t really get to experience the city. It’s been a really enjoyable experience.”
Like Michael, who walked free from prison at the start of the show, a first look at the drama confirmed rumours that his psychopathic father and head of the cartel, Bren Kinsella (played by Francis Magee), will also be back on the streets in the hotly anticipated second season.
Meanwhile, Herself writer and star Clare revealed how she loved stepping back into the shoes of Amanda, who masterminded the hit on Eamon, after going from stage star to household name virtually overnight in her first ever television role.
“Honest to God, I went from being a mostly unknown person to my own movie coming out and Kin coming out in one weekend,” she told. “There was these few months leading up to Christmas last year where I just had people talking to me in the street and in shops, they recognised me because of my voice, and it was actually so positive.
“Obviously we’re not allowed give away too much, and we still don’t even know what’s happening in the final two episodes yet.
“Let me just say there’s some twists and turns that the audience will be like, ‘Oh my God!’, especially watching Michael – there’s just things that you won’t expect. I don’t know if people will be absolutely riveted or going, ‘Nooo!’”
Crime drama North Sea Connection, starting on RTÉ One next Sunday, comedy drama The Dry, casting Ciarán Hinds in a different light as a philandering husband, and Charlene McKenna-led thriller Clean Sweep are just a few more of the broadcaster’s new offerings for an autumn of entertainment at home, while ‘Celtic noir’ Smother returns for the third and final time.
Favourites The Tommy Tiernan Show, Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes, First Dates Ireland, The Two Johnnies Do America and Ireland’s Fittest Family, with new coach Nina Carberry, will also be back.
While there’s new reality with A Very Modern Irish Family – Brian and Arthur’s Surrogacy Story, following Brian Dowling and Arthur Gourounlian’s journey to parenthood, fresh comedy with sketch show No Worries If Not!, and epic nature programmes including North Atlantic, presented by Irish underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan.
As he returns to the hot seat next Friday night, Ryan Tubridy told how he still has a “hunger” to present The Late Late Show after 14 years, but has no ambition to rival legend Gay Byrne, who was at the helm of the iconic Friday night chat show for 37 years.
“I’m going to be 50 in May,” said the radio and TV host. “That’s going to feature in my thought process… so I’ll be keeping an eye on everything in the next couple of years.
“The pandemic gave me pause for thought. I don’t want to be running on a treadmill as a much older person at all – I want to enjoy life as much as I do now.
“Let’s face it, I’ve seen a lot of colleagues die, especially the year when Gay, Marian [Finucane] and Larry [Gogan died]. Tony Fenton, and my dear friend Gerry Ryan – that’s very salutary for somebody whereby I want to live my [life]. When I’m away with people I love, I find myself increasingly going, ‘We’re here, this beer is delicious, your company is delightful’.
“I don’t want to be older and burnt out, I want to be older and excited still,” he continued. “When I finish on The Late Late Show, I’m going to pursue other projects – I don’t know what they are yet.
“It won’t be today or tomorrow, so I’m not going anywhere yet – but I don’t see a decade in it.
“I’ve had a beautiful time so far [but] I still have some more in me. I still have something slightly more to prove to myself as well. I think I can be a little bit better and I hope to do that this season.”