The Den is back: Why we could all do with a hug from Zig and Zag  

Pat Fitzpatrick meets Zig, Zag and Dustin The Turkey ahead of the return of The Den this weekend

The Den crew: Zig and Zag, Ray D'Arcy and Dustin, all set for Sunday fun on RTÉ One.
 

Zig and Zag had a surprise for me at the end of our 20-minute Zoom call. It had been a giggly, knockabout chat looking forward to the return of The Den to RTÉ, with Dustin there for a while until he ran into trouble with Sharon Ní Bheoláin’s phone (more on that later). I wished them well with the new series and then came the surprise — they told me they loved me.

It reminded me why people of all ages loved The Den, when it started out life as Dempsey’s Den in 1987. It was because everyone was so nice. Not nice in the old school way, where children’s TV presenters acted as if they were talking to their cat. The Den was proper, messy nice, where people tease and cajole each other and say things they shouldn’t say. It comes from the same place as The Snapper and Derry Girls — the programme was just like being at home with your family.