By Lauren Heskin
29th Jun 2020
29th Jun 2020
A The Den Reunion, The Panel crew reunite and Anne Doyle can deliver any line with complete stoicism – it’s the best bits of the RTÉ Comic Relief Show.
So by now, you’ve all seen the Normal People/Fleabag crossover, which included Connell, Marianne, the magnificent Andrew Scott as “Hot Priest”, and, of course, Connell’s chain.
But there were actually tons of great sketches on throughout the night, from Chris O’Dowd and Dawn O’Porter’s at-home lip-sync to Ann Doyle hosting the Waterford Whispers News alerts, and endless jokes about RTÉ’s destitution and the Normal People sex scenes in between.
RTÉ has released their top 40 sketches on the RTÉ Player and here’s our round-up of the best.
Derry Girls Zoom call
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Hoping to pitch Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan with a great sketch and prove they’re not anything like their characters on Derry Girls, the cast has a Zoom call to discuss ideas. Needless to say, things don’t go to plan.
Foil Arms & Hog
One of the most beloved of the comedy trio’s sketches makes a return, featuring Irish mammy and her teenage son… and his best friend Barry keeps showing up unannounced and eating them out of house and home. This sketch has got a Normal People twist, watch it on the RTE Player here.
Waterford Whispers News
If you want to see Anne Doyle reading lines for a teleprompter like, “outgoing Health Minister Simon Harris announced that all forms of dogging may return from Monday, whilst also lifting restrictions on all shifting, meeting and toe-jamming orgasm spasms,” then you can watch it here.
Bridget and Eamon
Jennifer Zamparelli and Bernard O’Shea are back with a special lockdown version as they head into hiding to try and avoid catching… lice. Forced to entertain themselves and each other, they hate-eat banana bread, caramelise the edges of some Easy Singles, and release a charity single, naturally.
The Panel
This one is seriously worth watching, ranking number 4 in RTÉ’s list. The Panel contestants and hosts come together to chat about what made the panel comedy show so great (hint: it either definitely was, or definitely wasn’t Dara O’Briain) and decide to do a special Comic Relief version of the show, only to falter at the first news hurdle. Watch it here.
The Den
Zig, Zag, Ian Dempsey and Dustin (coming to us via Mooz) get together again and things are… exactly the same! This may well be the best reunion of the whole show (no offence Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones).
Dustin’s cracks at Dermot Bannon’s architecture credentials and apparently long-lasting friendship with Bono is juxtaposed with Ian’s usual earnestness. It’s full of great jokes and tons of nostalgia.
Hozier’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Singing from a completely empty Croke Park, aside from a string orchestra and a piano, Hozier brings us all back down to earth with a stunning performance of ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.
After all the gags, skits and jokes, it’s a gentle reminder that they’re all for a good cause. RTÉ teamed up with The Community Foundation for Ireland for the broadcast and the €5 million raised during the airing will be donated as grants by The Community Fund to communities rebuilding Ireland after Covid-19. You can still donate here.
Read more: There’s a reason we’re all so thirsty for Connell in Normal People
Read more: RTÉ Comic Relief – here’s what to expect from tonight’s show
Read more: RTÉ’s Normal People x Fleabag crossover was the stuff of dreams
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