RTÉ to kick off New Year with new schedule

RTÉ launched its New Year schedule yesterday promising to showcase Irish acting, writing and directing talent in what the station bills as a host of great new dramas in 2006.

These kick off on New Year's Day with Kerry Katona's return in Showbands, a two-part drama about aspiring showband stars and their managers.

Other new drama includes Stardust, a dramatic treatment of the tragic 1981 disco fire, and Running To Stand Still, a drama based in the commuter belt around Dublin which examines the lives and loves of a family in crisis.

Old reliables include Desperate Housewives, Lost and The Sopranos. These will be complemented by new US favourites like Commander In Chief, which features Geena Davis as a mother-of-three who is about to become the first female president of the United States.

Another is Reunion which chronicles the lives of a group of six friends over the course of 20 years all in just one season.

Entertainment programming also features new shows alongside old favourites. One of the most ambitious of these is Other Voices which features the work of cutting-edge musicians recorded in the former St James' Church in Dingle, Co Kerry.

One of the quirkiest new programmes is The Unbelievable Truth, a series of mock documentaries presented by Colin Murphy which aims to take the mickey out of celebrities.

Lifestyle and factual programming continues to form a lynchpin in the schedule catering to a broad range of tastes from Arts Lives to fashion, interiors to the lives of medical interns in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin.

The initiative to kick off the year will be Health Fix for '06 a week of themed programming to encourage people to get fit, eat well and generally start on the road to a healthier year.

How Long Will You Live looks at life expectancy and the changes you can make to increase yours.

Stand-up comic Des Bishop hosts a series of comedy workshops in Joy in The Hood while Clopsies examines the phenomenon of the over-30s still at home.