''Naked Camera'' is a

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

comedy television show which began airing on

RTÉ Two (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Republic of Ireland, Irish Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, television, RT� ...

in 2005. Set and filmed in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

(mostly in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

), its concept is similar to that of the UK show ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channe ...

'' or the ascendant candid camera elements of ''

The Live Mike ''The Live Mike'' was an Irish television comedy, variety, and chat show presented by Mike Murphy. It was first broadcast on RTÉ 1 on 9 November 1979. The programme featured a candid camera pieces by Murphy himself, with parody songs and comed ...

''. Comedians PJ Gallagher,

Patrick McDonnell Patrick McDonnell (born March 17, 1956) is a cartoonist, author, and playwright. He is the creator of the daily comic strip '' Mutts'', which follows the adventures of a dog and a cat, that has been syndicated since 1994. Prior to creating ''Mut ...

, and

Maeve Higgins Maeve Anna Higgins (born 24 March 1981) is a comedian from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland and is based in New York City. She was a principal actor and writer of the RTÉ television production ''Naked Camera'', as well as for her own show ''Maeve H ...

wrote the scripts and portrayed the sketch characters. Produced by Scratch Productions for RTÉ, the third and concluding series aired in February 2007.

Character list

There follows a list of recurring characters, the most noteworthy of which is Jake Stevens. Other characters appeared occasionally.

Crew

A crew of five members stayed incognito at all times during filming.

Celebrity appearances

A number of celebrities made accidental and unsolicited appearances during the third series of ''Naked Camera''. These included the rugby analyst and radio presenter

George Hook George Hook (born 19 May 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, journalist and rugby union pundit. He formerly hosted ''The Right Hook'' and ''High Noon'' on the Irish radio station Newstalk. He had a career as a rugby union coach and businessman, b ...

, the professional taxi person Tommy Gorman, the blues musician Don Baker and the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

presenter

Bill O'Herlihy Bill O'Herlihy (26 September 1938 – 25 May 2015) was an Irish television broadcaster and public relations executive. He was best known for his broadcasts for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), primarily in politics and sport. A presenter for ...

. Each was singled out in a taxi.

''Makin' Jake''

Jake Stevens later received his own spin-off show, ''Makin' Jake'', which commenced broadcasting on RTÉ Two in January 2008. It was not commissioned for a second series. Similar to other comedic acts in Ireland (

Dustin the Turkey Dustin the Turkey, a character performed by John Morrison is a former star of RTÉ television's '' The Den'' between 1989 and 2010 and from 2020. He has been described as "the most subversive comedy force on Irish television". A turkey vultur ...

Pat Shortt Patrick Shortt (born 12 December 1967) is an Irish actor, comedian, writer, and entertainer. His role in the 2007 film '' Garage'' led to him receiving the IFTA for Best Actor. He is most notably remembered for his role as Tom in the television ...

and Richie Kavanagh), Stevens had earlier released a Christmas single " Merry Christmas Jakey Boy" in 2006. He performed this single on '' The Cafe'' and ''

Tubridy Tonight ''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...

'' in December of that year.

References

External links

''Naked Camera''
at

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's public service broadcaster. Its first channel was Telefís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added chan ...

* {{RTÉ Comedies 2005 Irish television series debuts 2007 Irish television series endings Irish television sketch shows