TV3 LAUNCHED ITS autumn schedule in Dublin city today, promising 230 hours of Irish-produced programming as well as the return of the hugely-popular X Factor and Glee.

Speaking at the launch, CEO David Redmond said that “TV3 can now claim to be the number one channel for entertainment”, adding that the channel is the only one in Ireland to have grown each year for the past three years.

Here’s a little taste of what the station has in store for the coming season:

Features

• Need advice? Then call Twink, says TV3, with the stage star set for her own agony aunt TV show called Give Adele a Bell
• Ever wondered what uber-fake-tanned girls look like without that ‘glow’? Well, now’s your chance with Slapped On? Stripped Off!
• Oprah: Behind the Scenes promises to do just that: give viewers an insight into the hugely successful US talk show

Factual

• Vincent Browne is lined up to challenge the assumptions and power of religion and religious beliefs in the new show Challenging God
• The exploitation of children is the focus of Too Much Too Young, presented by Ciara Doherty
• Former Late Late Show host Gay Byrne will present a documentary looking at the reality of traffic collisions, Anatomy of a Car Crash

Drama

• Downton Abbey fans will be relieved to hear the show is returning for its second season and the station is also promising a Behind the Scenes special
• A new drama called Titanic, co-produced by TV3, marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s ill-fated transatlantic journey
• Other shows returning to TV3 this season include Glee and Wild at Heart

Sport

• TV3 will air broadcast the GAA All-Ireland Minor Hurling and Football Finals exclusively for the first time
• UEFA Champions League action will be back on the station on Tuesday nights

Entertainment

• TV3 is promising maximum X Factor coverage, with The X Factor, X Factor US, The Extra Factor AND The X Factor Uncut. Phew…
• Take Me Out Ireland and Dancing on Ice will be back on the channel
• Illusionist Keith Barry plans to read people’s mind and implant thoughts on Deception with Keith Barry

Reality

• Bill Cullen is set to return with The Apprentice. And if you need more boardroom antics, The Apprentice: You’re Fired and The Apprentice: Behind the Scenes are also lined up
• Get set for Ireland’s version of The Real Housewives of Orange County -  the Southside Housewives are described as being “more yummy mummy than Irish mammy”
• Meanwhile, we’re promised a major transformation from ‘teenage terrors’ to ‘polite and proper’ with Tearaway Teen to Beauty Queen

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