Dermot Bannon refuses to change and that’s exactly what Ireland loves about him – Irish Times

Does Room To Improve (RTÉ One, Sunday, 9.30pm) need a fresh coat of paint? Until the latest series, Dermot Bannon’s property remodeling tycoon lives on in all his glory and brings wonder to RTÉ. , and turned the star architect into something close to a national treasure.

But this year, RTÉ’s most bulletproof brand has shown signs of wear and tear. There was a (minor) dispute over a property developed without proper planning permission, and he was given the green light to keep the development three days before the related episode aired.

Do you feel like you’ve seen it all before? After 15 seasons, are you tired of the passive-aggressive arguments between Bannon and his clients about where best to put the kitchen island and whether the windows need to be that big? (Yes, that’s right, Bannon always insists).

Meanwhile, the final chapter of the series will be released firmly. Mr Bannon is in Santry, a suburb north of Dublin, where surgeon Anne Brannigan and her husband David Mooney want to redesign the 1950s Semi-D design. This is a big ask, and it quickly becomes clear that a budget of 400,000 euros will not be enough.

They obviously want to keep costs down. But they are also determined to continue putting down roots at Suntory. Brannigan grew up in this house, her sister lives next door to her, and her mother lives across the road. But with the expected bill soaring towards €700,000, is their passion for Suntory running too deep? “Can you love your home too much?” the narrator wonders. This question was also raised by Mr. Bannon, who observed, “They’re going to put a lot of money into a house knowing they’re not going to get any money back into the house.”

The following is room for improvement regarding autopilot, but not in a bad way. There are disagreements about the kitchen island (Mr. Brannigan wants something minimalist, while Mr. Bannon wants it to have some gadgets). The 11th-hour request to set up an outside gym in his modest backyard wears out Bannon’s brain. Sitting in a coffee shop studying the blueprints, Ann and David were blown away by Dermot’s minimalist sketches.

“They can’t make small decisions because they can’t see the big picture,” he laments.

Still, they end up crossing the line. I hope it doesn’t count as a spoiler to reveal that when Bannon visits the completed addition, it’s nice and understated and everyone is happy with it. When David is overwhelmed, he cries with joy. “He’s not an architect, he’s an artist,” he says of Bannon. “He’s not afraid, he cares.”

RTÉ will also be feeling high knowing there is still a lot of mileage left on one of its most popular shows. In another time and place, one can imagine someone pitching “Room to Improve: The Musical,” featuring granite tops and a routine in which Bannon dances the tango in a vast window sill. That’s probably not possible at this point. But even with the occasional bump in the driveway, Room To Improvement will still turn on. Ireland refuses to change. And that’s what Ireland loves about Ireland.