Alan Hughes (presenter)

Alan Hughes (born 19 October 1963^[1]) is an Irish television personality, pantomime actor and producer. He works for Virgin Media and appears on Ireland AM. He also hosted Family Fortunes from 2012 to 2014.^[2]

In the 1990s, he hosted the RTÉ game show Talk About for three years.^[3]

Since the 1990's Hughes has co-produced and starred in pantomimes, usually playing the camp character Sammy Sausages with his "tanx a thousand!" catchphrase.^[4]

In 2009, Hughes faced a health scare when there were fears he had stomach cancer.^[5]

In September 2011, Hughes engaged in a civil partnership with his partner of 18 years, Karl Broderick, a songwriter, at the Unitarian Church in St Stephen's Green, Dublin.^[6][7] The wedding, on the 18th anniversary of their meeting, was described by The Irish Times as the highest profile wedding since legislation permitting it to take place was brought in.^[8] Close friend Derek Mooney was his best man.^[9] The couple appeared on The Saturday Night Show soon afterwards in their first public interview together.^[10]

Hughes was nominated in the Favourite Male TV Presenter category at the 2009 TV Now Awards.^[5]

Panto.ie

Hughes and husband Broderick,^[11] as Panto.ie/Anthem productions,^[12][13][14] have produced pantomimes since the 1990's.^[15][16][17] It was known for sponsorship reasons as the Ambrosia Splat Panto,^[17] and the Cheerios Panto.^[18][19] Hughes usually plays the camp character Sammy Sausages with his "tanx a thousand!" catchphrase, with Rob Murphy playing Buffy.^[4][20] Venues have included the Tivoli,^[4] Saint Anthony's Theatre,^[17][21] Liberty Hall Theatre,^[17] and the National Stadium.^[18][22] Productions in 2020 and 2021 were affected by the impact of COVID-19. For 2020, a drive-in show, Peter Pan, was staged at Malahide Castle.^[23] The 2021/22 production Aladdin, was curtailed due to a spike in infections.^[24]

Productions have included perfomances by Brian Dowling,^[12] Nadia Forde,^[25] Jake Carter,^[23] Niamh Kavanagh and pre-recorded pieces by broadcasters Joe Duffy and Marty Morrissey.^[25][26][18]

References

1. Conaty, Aine (19 October 2022). "Alan Hughes speechless on Ireland AM as he receives sweet surprise live on-air". The Irish Sun.
2. . TV3. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011.
3. "Alan Hughes talks Family Fortunes". RTÉ TEN. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 21 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012. Looking at Alan's slick new image for the show, is it likely that his signature deckchair jackets from his RTÉ Talkabout days will resurface? "I'd nearly go to someone in publicity in RTÉ and bribe them to burn every picture!
4. "Special Christmas Panto Offer for Members". World of Irish Nursing & Midwifery. 1 October 2011. p. 23. ISSN 2009-4264.
5. Horan, Niamh (12 April 2009). "TV3's Alan reveals cancer scare". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
6. . RTÉ TEN. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 1 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
7. Murphy, Claire (1 October 2011). "TV3 star Alan in tears as he ties knot with Karl". Evening Herald. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
8. McGreevy, Ronan (1 October 2011). "TV presenter weds partner of 18 years". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
9. Ryan, Alexandra (15 October 2011). "From best pals to rivals -- Derek and Alan face TV ratings war". Evening Herald. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2011. Despite denying similarities between the two shows, insiders revealed that Derek, who was best man at Alan's partnership with Karl Broderick, has been feeling the heat and knows his show will be pitted against Alan's.
10. . RTÉ TEN. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
11. Finn, Melanie (15 December 2022). "RTÉ's Toy Show The Musical has unfair advantage over others, says panto producer Alan Hughes". Independent.ie. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
12. Coyle, Colin (10 March 2019). "Did presenter Alan Hughes pay full panto tax? Oh no he didn't". Sunday Times (Ireland edition).
13. . Panto.ie. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 November 2007.
14. https://core.cro.ie/e-commerce/company/370067
15. Keating, Sara (28 November 2021). "Interview: Karl Broderick, pantomime writer and producer". Business Post. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
16. Anderson, Nicola (17 December 2021). "You think lockdown is all behind you – but oh no, it's not. And that's what's killing panto". Independent.ie. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
17. Colgan, Gerry (30 December 2002). "Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
18. Flannery, Amanda (23 September 2022). "First photos released of Marty Morrissey in this year's National Stadium panto". Dublin's Q102.
19. Blake Knox, Kirsty (4 December 2014). "Series 4 of Mrs Brown on the way? Oh yes it is!". Independent.ie. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
20. "Pantos 2018: All the big shows in Dublin, Cork and beyond reviewed and rated". The Irish Times. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
21. "Pantos". The Irish Times. 1 December 2000. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
22. "PICS: Alan Hughes and his cast of well-known faces take to the stage for Snow White panto". Goss.ie. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
23. "Jake Carter gears up for Peter Pan role in Ireland's first drive-in panto". SundayWorld.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
24. McGreevy, Ronan (23 December 2021). "Cancelled pantomime: 'We gave it our best shot and it just wasn't to be'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
25. MF (3 January 2013). "Panto star Nadia wants to follow Jedward with a shot at Eurovision". Independent.ie. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
26. Roberts, Sam (15 October 2018). "Joe Duffy is 'hilarious' in new role in Christmas panto Snow White". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 8 January 2023.

External links

• Panto.ie