Martin King: ‘We’re the new Iniesta and Xavi of teatime TV’ So what does Muireann think of that?
The new power couple of late afternoon television on TV3 discuss what makes them tick and what kind of team they are
THE boardroom at TV3’s studios in Ballymount is littered with various statues and gongs as well as halogen-lit posters of their box office shows. Colette Fitzpatrick and the cast of Xposé adorn the walls as do the Ireland AM team. The frames of the shots are tastefully lit with bright white and purple shades, the station’s signature shade.
Also enjoying pride of place on the wall of glory is a portrait of Martin King and his new ‘work wife’ Muireann O’Connell.
Next week will see The Six O’Clock Show celebrate its third birthday since going live on February 16 although it has evolved a great deal since its afternoon slot debut with Lucy Kennedy at the helm.
Lucy opted not to return from her maternity leave choosing instead to take the main presenting job on Ireland’s Got Talent.
Her shoes have been more than capably filled by the Limerick DJ, and in her short time at the helm Muireann has presided over a 40% increase in ratings.
Martin, one of the hardest working men in showbiz, says he was not shocked when Lucy decided to leave the sofa. He, in fact, predicted her departure months before she came to the decision.
‘It is funny’, he says. ‘I kind of never expected her to come back. I am a Dad myself, I have five kids and I just knew deep down when she told me last year that there was a baby coming, I knew she was done. ‘Obviously I congratulated her but I went away and thought about it and just thought that with three kids under seven I would be very surprised if she came back.
‘I remember saying it to the series producer in January that they needed to make plans. I wasn’t in the least bit surprised when I got a text. I was about to board a plane to Mexico, and she was letting me know she wasn’t returning. I knew from then I was getting Muireann as my sidekick and partner.’
‘That’s why he needed the holiday’, chirps in Muireann with a giggle.
YOU do, of course, wonder about the future of the show’, he continues. ‘There was a good chemistry there and we had developed the show from the afternoon and into the evening. You do think, it did work, so now I am going to get a new TV partner and will it work?
‘But I was lucky and we just clicked again. It is just a different energy and you have to work with it, like the way a midfielder has to get used to a new partner in the engine room. I can be Iniesta and you can be Xavi. But it kind of worked. Viewers seem to like it and we had a really good run-up until Christmas and the New Year.’
Muireann nods in agreement. She has an old head on young shoulders and has seamlessly settled into life on the couch.
‘The show’s figures are up 40% actually so we are happy and delighted, and viewers seem to like it which is important for longevity and for building the audience.’
Now a telly and radio star, the 34year-old recently took over the reins of Today FM’s new lunchtime show following the resignation of Al Porter. Muireann had been filling in the slot since November after the 24-year-old presenter stepped down in the wake of allegations over his private life.
‘He (AL) got in contact with someone in Today FM (to wish us well).
‘I am really excited for the new show. It is going to be slightly different and we have changed the time slots around.
‘I have a team that are brilliant craic and we are excited to see what is going on. We want to be relatable and be your friends that are on the radio and pay banging music as well.’
There is wonderful symmetry between Muireann and Martin, and while they don’t quite finish one another’s sentences there is a real comfort and ease in one another’s company.
Like Phil and Holly on This Morning the pair exhibit that comfort that only comes from trust built up from the pressures of live daily broadcasting.
So it is surprising that Muireann reveals there is one area where they are actually rivals – the crossover between her Today FM slot and Martin’s daily Q102 show.
But Muireann does not see it as anything other than the result of a happy workload.
‘We are actually radio rivals. Martin is also on the air in the daytime and I thought I would give it a go. We will see what happens and we will make it work.
‘I actually don’t think it is a hectic schedule and Martin has a busier day than I do if you think of anyone who commutes to work and they start at 9 or 8 in the morning.
‘They might not be home until after 6 in the evening.
‘I start work just after 9 and I am home at 8. So it is like one full working day just spread over two locations.
‘I don’t get sick of talking. No, not when it is enjoyable.
‘The thing with the Six O’Clock Show is that we are the facilitators for the people coming on. And the team who are working behind the scenes, the producers, and researchers, putting together the people for the show. And sometimes you can be watching the show and wondering who put those two people together.
‘It is madness and it is bonkers and fun and we want to find out about them. So it is about them chatting and less on us.
Muireann went to school in Crescent College Comprehensive in Limerick and started her career in radio with Limerick’s Live 95 before moving to SPIN South West.
In 2001, she joined now-defunct alternative music station Phantom FM in Dublin and in 2012, moved to 98FM where she produced and presented a late night talk show.
With a career spanning over 12 years she has been at Today FM since 2016, where she presents the weekly show Saturday Hits.
The popular presenter has filled in for Ian Dempsey, Dermot & Dave and Fergal D’Arcy on the station during her time there.
She clearly made a big impression with the show’s senior producers when she took over the Friday night slot, hosting once a week with fellow DJ Ray Foley.
IN THE end she was given the job over Deirdre O’Kane and a host of other guest presenters. But she admits that getting the rhythm of each daily show is an art in itself.
‘You have to pace yourself more because you are there for five days. Whereas when I was just on a Friday night with Ray it was a frenetic energy and you would bounce in here and know that you couldn’t get into too much trouble because you were here for one night a week.
‘You would be throwing the kitchen sick at it and now it is five nights a week’s so I do have to pace myself.
‘There is a different vibe on certain nights. We will find that on a Monday, you are easing people in after a long day and then on Wednesday people are starting to ramp up again. When they are getting in touch with the show you can get that vibe.
‘On a Friday you get the feeling that they are not sitting down after work unwinding, they are maybe having a glass of wine and getting ready to go out.’
Martin King is certainly part of the TV3 furniture having made his name as a weatherman before moving in to a full-time presenting role.
‘While he may be seen as a safe pair of hands he has a wonderful
sense of empathy which has helped the team get a regular stream of repeat guests.
However there is one thing Martin and the team cannot overcome – the flu outbreak.
‘It is nice to get familiar faces in and that is great, he says. ‘But recently the flu bug has been an absolute b ****** . Because we forward plan and we have a list of guests and then they started falling like flies and we were in it.
‘But the team worked so hard to fill the gap. But we are guest dependent still.
‘But I think that people come to the programme because they see it as an alternative show. They know they will have a few laughs and form relationships with some of the regulars on the show.
‘They are going to get some information, cooking ideas for the next day and we like to take the p*** and have a laugh as well as digging in and getting some information that they might not have revealed before.’
Muireann believes the casual tone of the show gives them the best chance to get the most out of their daily guests who quite often feel that it is easier to open up in front of the cameras given the laid-back conversation from the presenters and regular guests.
‘I feel it is just a laugh and a nice thing that is there for you when you are coming home, and not too serious or topical and an easy way to destress from that hard day at work.
‘The one thing that is great about Irish guests is that they are great at telling stories and that is what makes the show.
Sinéad Kissane was on recently and a lot of people were probably shaking their heads going: ‘not another TV3 person!’
BUT she had never been on the show and she was telling a story about Dylan Hartley, the English rugby captain when she was over for the press conference for the Six Nations.
‘And she started telling us about how, off-camera, he opened his gear bag and just put it up to her face and was trying to get her to stick her head in the bag to smell his boots.
‘This is the English rugby captain and so those are the wonderfully funny and brilliant stories that come out. She said he was a nice boy which was probably the strangest story.’
Three years on and Martin feels that they have only started to hit their stride. New TV3 shows will ultimately help them get access to better guests and both presenters cannot wait to get the stars of Ireland’s Got Talent on their sofa.
‘Ireland’s Got Talent will give us great content as well, Martin says. ‘I am so excited to see what will happen. We hope that not only the judges but the acts will come on the show to give us an insight. They get three minutes on the actual show so hopefully they will come on with us and give us their stories.
‘The quality levels are really high and they had to be. They have the Talent Bible which will help. They will be coming from the four corners of Ireland and hopefully we will get the chance to maybe get to know them a little bit more.
‘Take Evelyn from the first episode, wasn’t she great? And everyone can share in that story.
‘The amount of people who will be going around telling their friends that they knew her or worked with her. I just think that IGT has a similar vibe to our show. We are not there to catch anyone out or put anyone down. It is just warm and engaging television which I think people like to watch.’