Dermot Bannon: ‘This is the series that grants built’

Eve Kelliher discovers how Ireland’s most famous architect has that 'Leaving Cert feeling' as RTÉ's 'Room to Improve' airs

Architect Dermot Bannon teams up again with quantity surveyor Claire Irwin for the 2024 series of Room to Improve on RTÉ One.

Surprisingly for the architect whose onscreen theatrics with his steadying quantity surveyors has rivalled the soaps, Dermot Bannon believes smaller builds make for more relatable television viewing.

Because the cost-of-living crisis is biting hard in the upcoming episodes of Room to Improve. “This year, budgets are tighter than ever, so some of the projects aren’t as big,” he says.