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Ireland's Fittest Family is returning to a screens very shortly with a brand new "re-vamped" series. The hit RTÉ show, hosted by Laura Fox, has undergone an exciting shake-up ahead of its return on Saturday, November 2nd. Not only have changes been made to the format, this series features new star coaches, new locations and new adrenaline-pumping challenges in what show bosses promise will be "the most competitive [series] yet." Read more: Sonia O'Sullivan on why she left Ireland's Fittest Family plus her health surprise Read more: Donncha O'Callaghan on life after 2FM, family holidays and reality of parenting Ireland's Fittest Family sees show veterans Davy Fitzgerald, Anna Geary and Donncha O’Callaghan face-to-face with some newcomers with a serious sporting pedigree. Champion swimmer Ellen Keane has joined this year, as has winner of 8 All-Ireland medals Michael Darragh MacAuley, and Irish rugby legend Andrew Trimble. This means that the bid for glory coaching the fittest Irish family will now be a six-way battle. Viewers will also see the families put through their paces and pushed to the edge physically and mentally in an array of brand-new challenges set by members of the Irish Defence Forces. Taking place in the rugged Gormanston Army camp, the Heats will unfold over three weeks. Each week, one original coach will go head-to head with a new coach - and it's Anna vs Michael Darragh, Davy vs Ellen, and Donncha vs Andrew. Kicking off week 1 are Anna and Michael Darragh - each with two families. Anna’s McClements family from Down and Carr family from Westmeath will take on Michael Darragh’s Walsh's from Cork and Byrne's from Dublin. In Box to the Top, the sporty families start off in the ice-cold sea and embark on a head-to-head race along an army training ground, carrying kit bags and sandbags along the way. The competing families then must face Truck Pull – attempting to pull a 7.5 tonne army vehicle along a decommissioned runway. The four families are battling it out for one of three places in the next round of Ireland's Fittest Family. At the end of episode 1, when the scores of the first two events are combined, the two highest-scoring go through to the next round, and the two families at the bottom have to face off in the Army Eliminator. Alan Tyler, RTÉ Group Head of Entertainment and Music, said: "Now in its 13th series, Ireland's Fittest Family is back with its most competitive offering to date - and that's just with the calibre of coaches on-board! "The show is a firm Sunday evening family favourite, and it's great to welcome some brand-new coaches to join our much loved veterans, along with some hugely challenging new tasks. "All told, it promises to be the toughest contest yet for our competing families, every one of whom will be running, jumping, hanging, climbing, and crawling their way towards the finish line in a bid to be crowned Ireland's Fittest Family." Watch Ireland's Fittest Family from Sunday, 2 November, 6.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
