Head 2 Toe ran for 9 (not 10 as some believe) series on RTÉ ONE between 1988 and 1997. It was conceived as a weekly lifestyle magazine, with an original line-up of three presenters, Marty Whelan, Mary O’Sullivan and Frances Duff.
Mary O’Sullivan had worked on The Late Late Show‘s fashion awards and described Head to Toe as a “mix of everything to do with with clothes, people, the rag trade in general, personalities, swap shops, the nostalgia scene, people’s private collections, country shopping and dressing and budgets and even problems” when interviewed in the RTÉ Guide on 14 October, 1988.
I joined in 1989 and worked on the show for five years, first with Mari O’Leary and Barbara McMahon, later with Barbara and Jennifer Keegan, until 1994.
I could never have been described as a dedicated follower of fashion but I had a blast during my time on Head 2 Toe and learned a huge amount about how television is made that was of enormous help when I began producing and directing myself.