Ready, Set, Atkins!: Meet the Mayo brothers behind your favourite reality TV shows
Simon and Warren Atkins at Cannes: "We’ll have a fight every now and then as siblings do, but it’s rare"
If you enjoy any of the glorious reality TV currently on our screens, then it’s likely that one or both of these brothers from Mayo had a hand in it.
Warren and Simon Atkins have produced and worked on some of the biggest shows on TV, and when they’re not behind the scenes, they’re in front of the camera presenting, or picking up gongs for their work.
The latest secured them their second Emmy — for . Between them, their CV also includes , , , , , , and .
“Growing up, we did a lot of extracurricular activities, we did speech and drama, so a lot of acting, music, and performing. It was just a natural thing that we were always going to do something like this,” says Simon of his Castlebar childhood.
The Irish-Burmese brothers initially worked in completely different careers, but the calling for TV was strong.
“I did a degree in science in UCD, and it was right beside RTÉ. I always knew I wanted to work there,” Simon recalls.
“I worked in a bank for almost two years after uni and I just thought ‘this is the most boring job ever’ so I applied to be a reporter on kids TV in RTÉ and I got that job. I was presenting with Aidan Power and it just all took off from there.”
Simon went on to host more shows in Ireland and the UK, but knew he wanted to be behind the camera too.
Warren recalls being unhappy in a fashion recruitment role around the same time.
“Simon was just like: ‘Why don’t you just try this, and see how you get on?’ We ended up working on a show together, called , and it was massive. It all took off from there. I was in. That was it.”
The brothers quickly found their niche within the industry.
“We’ve just gone down the celebrity route, that’s why we did . I worked on as the coaches’ producer, so I was working with Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones, Rita Ora, Boy George … all of that led me on to ,” explains Warren.
“I think we’ve really honed in on working with celebs,” says Simon. “There’s a lot of producer jobs out there but one of our strengths is working with celebs.”
While they say working with big names is a breeze, working with family can be another story. Simon and Warren live together in London, but the brothers promise they rarely row.
“We’ll have a fight every now and then as siblings do, but it’s rare,” says Warren.
“We did a show called ,” Simon laughs, hinting it might have been one of those rare times. The premise of the show featured Americans coming to York to date in a regency-era setting.
“We shot during covid. It was the biggest show we’ve ever worked on. But then we ran some of the US edits in this apartment. That was so stressful. We were working during the day but then the US would clock on at 6pm. So much work goes into producing; every look, every glance, every word, has been mulled over by producers for months.”
Their latest project, , is an -style show which sees entrepreneurs battle it out for a £100k investment into their business. The brothers say it was a rather meta project.
“The hilarious thing about that show is that we raised money to make it, over £1.2m. I was like a budding entrepreneur, making a show about entrepreneurs,” Simon laughs.
“We learned so much, dealing with investors and venture capitalists. It’s now on Amazon Prime UK and US. It’s been sold in various different countries, so it was a big success and we’ll be doing season two really soon.”
Warren cast the show to find the most compelling contestants for the competition.
Anyone who enjoys reality TV will know that the characters make the shows. How do Simon and Warren ensure they get the cream of the crop for their projects when so many people want their chance in the spotlight?
“Thousands of applications come through,” says Warren. “But the casting team do a lot of outreach too through Instagram, Facebook; you might see someone who looks really great or has a really lovely story. We ask, are they fun? Are they charismatic? Are they vibrant? What can they bring to the show?”
He adds that it all depends on the type of show you’re working on too.
“I’m working on in the US. It’s my second series casting, that’s also about inclusivity, especially on a show like this, it’s tapping into all the different areas of the LGBTQ+ community, to ensure full representation.”
As two gay men, the brothers feel it’s important to work on shows that represent LGBTQ+ people. Simon says his proudest achievement is his BBC documentary , which he produced and presented.
“It was very cathartic. Not only did I look at Catholicism and different religious attitudes toward sexuality, it was also a story about me and my upbringing, my life and my relationships. I really had to lay it all bare and talk about something I wouldn’t have been comfortable talking about maybe five years before that. To be able to be on screen, with my boyfriend at the time, talking about my sexuality on BBC was a major moment for me, and Warren’s show is a landmark series too.”
Warren’s show, is the UK’s first gay dating show. “I think for both of us, we’re gay Irish brothers from a very small town in the west of Ireland.
“It’s only in the latter years that we’re very, very comfortable about who we are. With , to be one of the senior people on the first-ever gay dating show was huge for me. The love and support and passion behind this show is amazing.”
Simon adds that so much has changed in recent years in terms of LGBTQ+ representation on our screens.
“Only three years ago broadcasters wouldn’t dream of putting shows like this on. Our hope is that we’ll be able to focus on that a little bit more. One of our dreams really — and we’re talking about it with various channels — is to develop, executive produce, and host our own show. It would be a bit more real, to show what it’s like to date at our age. In your 30s and 40s, there’s not much on TV that depicts that.”
Warren agrees: “Generally those shows focus on people up to mid-20s, but at that age you’re not really looking for love, but in your 30s and 40s … I mean we’re bloody in our 30s and 40s and we’re still single.”
Simon laughs, “The irony is we’ve worked on all of the biggest dating shows in the UK and we’re both single. We spend hours helping people find love, and we’re like c’mon.” They both surmise that actually, they have no time to go on dates.
“We’re too bloody busy” says Simon, shaking his head.
While both Warren and Simon say they adore their jobs and feel very lucky, they acknowledge that the industry is getting more difficult to break into and make a living from.
The brothers have been based in the UK for over 12 years, and like a lot of Irish talent, they felt there were better opportunities outside of Ireland.
“Unfortunately the budgets in Ireland are just so small, you’re just not able to fund the calibre of television you can over here,” says Simon.
“That being said, I would love to do a show in Ireland.
Do the men have their eyes on Ireland for their next project?
“There is room for a reality rom-com set in Ireland, we’ve seen and movies like that set in Ireland, there is definitely room to "make Ireland great again" in terms of TV.
Ireland’s film industry is amazing, but with the TV industry, people have just gravitated toward the UK and the US and I think it’s sad. But it’s not dead in the water, there is scope in Ireland for more TV stuff,” says Simon.
“We have an idea for this amazing dating series in Ireland,” Warren teases. “I swear to god I’m going to make it happen.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
