The old saying about death and taxes being the only certainties has received a twist from RTÉ. Death and property are the watchwords held dear by the national broadcaster, which judiciously fills the schedules with shows about heart health and houses. Somewhere in Montrose, experts are working around the clock for a way to get Dermot Bannon on to Operation Transformation.
Until that bright day we must make do with solid fare such as How Long Will You Live? (RTÉ One, Tuesday, 8.30pm). Just with its title, the series tempts fate rather blatantly. Any of us could live to a ripeish old age or perish in a freak accident tomorrow — outcomes surely beyond the powers of the RTÉ midweek schedule to predict.
It’s off to the gym for Carrie Roberts — and to the seaside, for a liaison with a dietician who expresses concern about her ‘beige’ diet, which sounds like a fancy way of saying it doesn’t contain enough fruit and veg
That aside, this is a brisk and optimistic overview of everyday health challenges. It is presented by Dr Phil — though, thankfully/crushingly, not that Dr Phil. Our host is a Cork GP named Dr Phil Kieran, a low-key sort who seems motivated by the desire to improve the life quality of the Irish public rather than have his mug all over prime time, which is sometimes a concern with telly doctors.
His first stop in the new season is Waterford, where he meets Carrie Roberts, a community worker and mother of two who has fallen into a bit of a rut as middle age approaches. “Lack of motivation since turning 40 got me a place where I don’t know what I want to do with my life,” she says, adding that she is still grieving for her father, who died from cancer.
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We had sex maybe once a month. The constant rejection was soul-crushing, it felt like my ex didn’t even like me
She doesn’t seem grossly, or even moderately, unhealthy — and, running the numbers, Kieran reveals that she can expect to live to 76. Still, she can do better, by improving her body-mass index and tackling her cholesterol. So it’s off to the gym and the seaside for a liaison with a dietitian who expresses concern about her “beige” diet, which sounds like a fancy way of saying it doesn’t contain enough fruit and veg.
Roberts does not look like someone in imminent need of an intravenous drip, which is possibly the point. These shows often focus on people in visibly dire health, perhaps so the rest of us can feel we’re off the hook and can therefore stand back and gawk. With a perfectly average member of the public under the microscope, however, How Long Will You Live? reminds us that we can all do a little better.
She goes to the gym, tweaks her diet and attends a heart clinic in Dublin, where an anomaly in her ticker — a moment of real drama — is revealed to be benign
And that’s what Roberts does. She goes to the gym, tweaks her diet and attends a heart clinic in Dublin, where an anomaly in her ticker — a moment of real drama — is revealed to be benign.
Finally, Dr Phil reaches for his laptop and reveals that Roberts’s could now live until she’s 85. It’s a positive conclusion to a show that doesn’t want to change the world but settles instead for encouraging each of us to think about our health, with the message that small changes that can yield big results.
