Operation Transformation review: Men's health to the fore as Noel opens up 

Another impressive episode of Operation Transformation provided plenty motivation for viewers 

Operation Transformation participant Noel O’Connell. 

It is Episode 5 for Operation Transformation and Noel is back and drinking a glass of red wine with his dinner. Red wine, he informs us, “contains antioxidants”, which let’s face it basically makes it a salad.

What makes Noel such an inspiring leader is his ability to talk so honestly about his mental health struggles. He speaks of how his low mood has, at times, manifested in anger, and once again, Dr. Eddie points to this being a wider problem, particularly in relation to men.

At fitness tests, Dr. Eddie says “You carry less, the more open you are”, a comment which perfectly sums up Noel’s transparency. He is basically cling film in a world of baking paper, and it is welcome to see.

Returning to Newbridge College forty years after he left the school, Noel discusses the importance of minding ourselves as we get older with former schoolmates, and Noel’s friend Eric points to routine blood tests as having caught his asymptomatic prostate cancer. The conversations around men’s health come across as organic and natural, rather than the often contrived television content we are used to.

Operation Transformation 2024 participants.

Again, we are reminded that whilst some similar television formats are very youth-focused, this is a show which emphasises the ability to make changes for the better at any age, and how we all need minding, no matter what point in life we are at.

Daragh’s talking head is not for the fainthearted as he describes how his young son managed to split his tongue, and in doing so had this reviewer hiding behind a cushion - a move I haven’t pulled since that notorious cat scene in Love/Hate. The fact Daragh managed to nip home in the wee hours and reach for energy balls rather than a Dairy Milk means his canonisation is surely imminent.

In Meath, Michelle speaks of how it took her eight years to convince her husband to go again for baby number three, which by Irish martial standards is a swift turnaround. Karl’s observation that ten days “on your bum” sees your cardiovascular fitness decline has this reviewer sweating, given that walks in this house usually end with a scone and coffee at the end.

The enlightened decision to forego the weight loss element of fitness tests with Edel is because, as Sophie the dietician points out, they want to focus on her building a “more positive relationship with food.”

The show’s continual focus on journeys rather than destinations has even this reviewer considering a walk that doesn’t end in a baked treat - which stands as direct evidence that the jewel in RTÉ’s lifestyle crown must be doing something right.