Head 2 Toe (1989-1994)

Presenter (Aug 1989-Jun 1994): weekly 30' fashion magazine show with RTÉ 1, Dublin

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.

Myself and Mari O’Leary first appeared on our television screens as presenters of Head 2 Toe on 3 November, 1989.

We attempted to sate my music background in this Styling A Pop Band report broadcast on 16 February, 1990.

This report on religious fashion from 31 March 1991 was probably the most surreal report I did during my five years on the show.

And I got to show off my chauffeuring skills in this Pat Crowley autumn/winter collection report broadcast on 03 November, 1992.

There were also two Head 2 Toe Show Live events run in conjunction with the programme during my spell on the show, the first in The Point (now the 3 Arena) in 1992, the other in the RDS in 1993.

Four editions of the Head 2 Toe Magazine were also published.

There are extra Head 2 Toe pictures in my Facebook Head 2 Toe photo album (even if you don’t have a Facebook account).

For more, see:

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Off Message 16 – The festive season is a particularly weird period in TV and radio land. Making Head 2 Toe was no exception.

Choose Me – Off Message 12 – How humiliating are auditions? I’ve only ever done ten; and I got three of those, including Head 2 Toe, a pretty decent batting average. Unsurprisingly so I’ve never minded them.

Happy Anniversaries – Off Message 9 – There were quite a few varyingly significant personal anniversaries in the air back in 2014, including leaving Head 2 Toe. Some were more significant than others. All had a story to tell.

It Was 25 Years Ago Today…ish (Part 1) – Off Message 8 – It was 25 years when I wrote this in 2014 since I auditioned for Head 2 Toe. How that even came to happen at all is itself a bit of a tale.

2 Comments. Leave new

  • Lilian Davis
    July 17, 2024 7:28 pm

    Would you have footage of the head 2 toe episode in Bray Co wicklow with Noel Kelly ? Please its my partners uncle

    Reply
    • Lilian,
      Sorry, only seeing your comment now. The best place to get old RTE TV footage is RTE Archives. Drop them a line at archives@rte.ie with as much detail as you can about the item or episode you’re looking for, especially if you have it, the transmission date or as close as you can estimate. There’s a small charge for supplying footage, I believe.
      Cheers,
      Pat

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.