Seán Munsanje (born 10 July 1981) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

television presenter from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He has presented shows for several channels in his native country, including Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Channel 6 and, most recently, TV3. On 11 August 2009, he won the TV3

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

programme, '' Total Xposure'', thus becoming the new presenter of the channel's prime time entertainment magazine programme ''

Xposé ''Xposé'' is an entertainment, fashion and beauty programme that aired on Irish television from 2007 to 2019. It was broadcast every Friday at 18:00 on Virgin Media One. It ran for a 3-day week at 20:00 on Virgin Media Two (previously known ...

''. A public vote saw him beat Simon Atkins and Ruth O'Neill in the final on 11 August 2009. Munsanje thus became the first ever male presenter of ''Xposé ''.

Career

Education and early career

Munsanje was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and Zambian father. He spent his early years in Zambia and England, before his family returned to Ireland in 1993. Munsanje attended

St. Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...

in Ennis,

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

, and the

National University of Ireland, Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It ...

, where he earned a degree in Media Studies. He has presented for both

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

and Channel 6. On ''TTV'' he presented a ‘gig guide' each week for the former, while he presented the film show ''Take Six'' for the latter. He is also the resident movie critic on Dublin radio station FM104.

''Total Xposure''

Musanje was one of ten hopefuls who took part in ''Total Xposure'' aiming to win a prize of a presenting contract with TV3. He has said he rang his parents, who were holidaying in

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, throughout the show and they flew in especially to attend the final. He was named the new host of ''Xposé'' live on television after the final results show of ''Total Xposure'' on 11 August 2009. He had been the "hot favourite" to win the show, with one bookmaker paying out early to those who had gambled on him. He was awarded a six-month contract in television presenting worth €20,000 and was welcomed by his fellow ''Xposé'' presenters afterwards. Producer Debbie O'Donnell later spoke of her delight to have a male working on ''Xposé''. Munsanje was soon being approached by strangers and offered free items of clothing. Following the show, he stated that he had not at that stage finalised his salary. On 5 July 2010 it was announced that Munsanje would leave the show at the end of August, a year after he won '' Total Xposure''.

Personal life

Munsanje married his partner, Chris Doyle, in 2013. In 2015, he and Doyle had a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munsanje, Sean 1981 births Living people Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth FM104 presenters Gay entertainers Irish people of Zambian descent Irish television personalities Irish LGBT broadcasters Irish LGBT entertainers Participants in Irish reality television series People educated at St Flannan's College People from County Dublin Reality show winners RTÉ television presenters Xposé hosts Alumni of Waterford Institute of Technology