Blockbuster debates guaranteed as lineup announced for Virgin Media's Dinner With The Enemy

Dinner with the Enemy has announced their incredible line-up ahead of the show's debut on Monday, October 6. 

Landing on Virgin Media Play and Virgin Media One for six weeks, the daring social experiment is a gripping super-sized version of the original Irish format- Eating with the Enemy, made by Animo TV.

This is the most unlikely dinner party ever seen on Irish television as 10 people with polar opposite views and opinions sit across from each other for a fiery week of debate and conversation. Psychotherapists Daniella Moyles and Dr Richard Hoganwill be watching from the sidelines, decoding every glance, every outburst and every silence.

The ten diners come from all walks of life and from every corner of Ireland; they have experienced everything from poverty and racism to assault. They are carers, activists, office workers, mums and dads and sons and daughters. However, they are not the same – they have very different world views.

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This series will bring them face to face with their perceived enemies. Each night, they're served not just food, but moral dilemmas, divisive social issues and deeply personal questions.

Andy Lee is a self-made man who comes from Dublin’s inner city. He has overcome extreme poverty to become Ireland’s most famous porn star. Amy Nicole Byrne, from Dublin, has studied law and currently works as a practise manager of a veterinary team. Ben Scallan, also from Dublin, is a political correspondent for Gript Media, while Jacob Donegan, who hails from Meath, works as a tyre mechanic. 

Also taking part in the show are activist and founding member of Dublin Pride and NorthWest Pride Izzy Kamikaze, from Leitrim and Dublin, Fiona McCormack, from Cavan, who works as a carer for people with intellectual disabilities and motivational speaker Tayem Mercer, who lives in Dublin. Activist Natasha O’Brien will be known by many for raising awareness of violence in Irish society, advocating for the rights of victims in the Irish justice system.  Sophie McGuinness is a model and podcaster from Dublin, while Architectural Technologist Dermot Collins is from Laois.

In an increasingly polarised world where many people hide behind the mask of social media, what can these very different people learn from each other and about themselves across each dinner? Over the course of the series, expect new dinner guests to join the table to discuss cultural hot topics, as well as moral and societal questions that reveal how we’re all shaped by our cultures, experiences, and values.

The robust debate around the table will invite the audience to question where they stand on the big societal issues of today. In a world of algorithm dictated discourse how would we cope when face to face with opposing views?

The series will feature challenges designed to test group dynamics at the table. Themes such as groupthink, teamwork, unconscious bias, prejudice and power dynamics will be observed and allowed to play out as the experiment asks: once we peel back assumptions, labels and political allegiances, can we humanise each other rather than demonise?

The week of unpredictable dinners concludes with a final challenge testing the diners’ ability to reach consensus. Will greed and individualism trump shared humanity, or will the group have bonded enough to overcome their differences? Has anyone truly changed as a person? Were their assumptions about their fellow diners wrong?  And most crucially, has the experience shifted their perspective on those with opposite views to their own?

Dinner with the Enemy starts Monday, October 6 and runs for six weeks on Virgin Media Play and Virgin Media One at 9pm.

Supported by Coimisiún na Meán’s Sound and Vision Funding Scheme.