A NEW reality TV show is about to give Irish celebrities a bloody nose.

The Sunday Tribune has learned the national broadcaster has commissioned production company Screentime ShinAwil to make the series, in which some of Ireland's best-known faces will slug it out in boxing matches against one another for charity.

The show will be broadcast over four weeks starting in August. Each one-hour programme will feature well-known personalities in the build-up to their fights and climax with the resulting celebrity bouts.

The only problem encountered by the programme makers so far has been finding Irish celebrities fit enough to get into the ring.

An RTé source said: "There are some serial Irish reality-show contestants the public definitely wouldn't want to see in trunks and sweating profusely."

RTé has told programme makers it doesn't want participants hurt in the televised bouts lest they turn into bloodfests of broken noses and fractured ribs.

"We're talking about fights being staged in a very safe environment with people using all the best safety equipment available. It's worth pointing out that boxing is a very healthy pastime when done correctly within the rules of the sport. It should also be stressed that the matches featured in the series will be fun bouts and suitable for the whole family to watch. At the same time we want them to be credible," the Donnybrook source added.

RTé insiders said that the reality show, still untitled, will have a shorter run than last summer's hotel-based fundraiser Fáilte Towers. They said the series is a conscious attempt by the station to provide home-produced entertainment despite a €68m shortfall in advertising revenue.

So limited are RTé's resources for the show, the series was only given the green light in recent days, with details withheld from the press launch of RTé's summer season last week.

RTé is in talks with former Irish boxing champion Barry McGuigan to host the series, although it's thought these negotiations have yet to be completed.

Contacted by the Sunday Tribune this weekend, a spokesperson for company Screentime ShinAwil declined to comment.

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