Ray Foley has advised the women who appear on his new TV3 show, Take Me Out, to ignore online criticisms which have described them as "trashy" and "vacuous".

A number of the women on the dating show, which pits one man against 30 possible dates, participated in internet discussions to defend themselves against insults to their appearance and character. The women were described in one discussion as "overdone", "sheep minded" and "the lowest common kind".

In response, one of the girls, who did not name herself, said, "I'm one of the lucky 30 girls. I'm in no way 'fame grabbing' and what is up with everyone slagging us off?"

Presenter Foley has now advised the women to ignore any abuse levelled at them, saying the majority of those who post on forums are negative and mis-informed.

"I learned a few years ago to stop reading them because users are overly negative and wholly uninformed. It's inevitable with anything you make and put in the public domain that people will react badly to it but it's not nice to read it. The best advice I could give the girls that are reacting to it is to stop reading it, because what you don't read doesn't annoy you."

Foley also said he believes the comments used to describe the girls are unfair. "There are 30 amazing, funny, talented women on stage with me every week, and having got to know each of them, I can tell you that they're all different and unique in their own way. Calling them all trashy or dumb in a single stroke is a pretty stupid argument in itself, so it's a waste of time indulging anyone who makes it."