Ray D’Arcy has admitted he is “disappointed” by the news that RTÉ’s The Den has been cancelled.
The popular programme returned to RTÉ One last November, and viewers loved the wacky antics of Dustin the Turkey, Zig and Zag, and Ray.
At the end of July, Ray confirmed that The Den would be back on RTÉ One in January 2022 but earlier this week, Zig and Zag creators Double Z announced that the show wouldn’t be coming back after all.
Well, sad news to report today. We found out from the bosses that #TheDen won't be coming back after all! Thankz to all the old fans and the new ones for tuning in! We had a blast! pic.twitter.com/q3suLJQg85
— ᴅᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴢ 💥 (@DoubleZCreative) October 5, 2021
Speaking on his RTÉ Radio One show on Wednesday, Ray said: “Very sad news, you might have heard it already but the man from RTÉ said, ‘No The Den is not coming back’.”
“He had said, ‘Yes it is coming back in the autumn,’ and then he said, ‘Yes it is coming back in January,’ and then yesterday he said, ‘No it’s not coming back in January’.”
“I was telling Tom this last night. Tom is aged nine. And he was the strong one in the relationship last night, we were having the chat while I was putting him to bed. He said ‘So the Den isn’t coming back. Are you disappointed?’ I said ‘Yeah.'”
“He said ‘Would you like the Den to come back? I said ‘Yes, I would.’ He said, ‘Well, you have to make your voice heard.’ That’s what he said. Well, what am I going to say? I’m disappointed, it’s a pity.”
Ray continued: “And the big pity is you could count on one finger the number of TV programmes that families can sit down and watch together.”
“The programme I’m talking about in my family is the Great British Bake Off. Maybe after Christmas when the Ant and Dec show comes back, and Dancing with the Stars. But they are few and far between and The Den was that thing, wasn’t it?”
“We had a lovely reaction when it came back last year, and constant stories coming to me via texts and emails and people you meet in the street. That adults who grew up with The Den are now sitting down as parents and watching it with their children and enjoying it as a family.”
“And they have found it magical that their children were laughing at the same things they laughed at as children. That’s very special.”
“In a world where TV is becoming globalised like everything else, it’s taking TV a little bit longer but it’s happening at pace,” he added.
“You need to hold onto things that are uniquely Irish, things that give us an identity, things that are local. You can’t get more local than a builder talking turkey from the Long Mile Road.”
“I realise that it’s a very tough time for people for this organisation for RTÉ at the moment. And people who are privy to information that I don’t have access to have to make tough decisions, and I realise that.”
“The Den was that lovely thing, we were going into people’s sitting rooms. Anyway, they have decided that it’s not coming back and it’s disappointing and hopefully I’ve done what my son asked me to do and made my voice heard on that rather than staying schtum.”
