Many tourists come to Northern Ireland to visit well-known attractions, often overlooking smaller rural towns.
In a bid to rectify this, ‘NIPS’ (Northern Ireland Promotional Society) have enlisted comedian Paddy Raff’s posh alter-ego, Nigel, to front a new campaign that shines a light on some of Northern Ireland’s ‘lesser known’ tourist attractions.
In this three-part series, Nigel – who is far too busy being posh to go himself – sends Paddy and a celebrity friend off the beaten track for short breaks in Counties Tyrone, Armagh and Antrim.
Paddy says: “I can’t wait for the series to hit TV screens, partly because it’s a craic-filled, off-the-beaten-track travelogue that I think people will really love.”
“And also because my wife looked after the kids while I was away filming and all she heard about was me doing clay pigeon shooting, gin making classes, learning to pull pints and sipping champagne in hot tubs – I need it to air so she sees I wasn’t on some sort of BBC-funded stag do!”
‘Nigel’ says: “I come from a two-up two-down upbringing, in that we had two properties up the coast and two in County Down, so I’ve always seen the beauty of Northern Ireland and it’s an honour to have been grabbed by the NIPS to shine a light on these hidden gems.”
From milking cows to making gin, the intrepid travellers have plenty of adventures as they explore Northern Ireland and sample the delights the different towns have to offer.
Nigel does have one stipulation, however, insisting that Paddy and his guest stay at a unique location befitting of his BT9 status, complete with a hot tub for the ‘end of the night bubbles’.
In episode one, Paddy and Hope Street actor Tara Lynne O’Neill visit ‘the Moy’ in Co Tyrone for drinks and dancing before spending the night in a Georgian period property which has been converted into a swanky B&B.
Paddy and comedian Russell Kane take a ‘lads’ trip’ to Forkhill in Co Armagh in the second episode, where they brush up on their survival skills in the surrounding woodlands, take aim at a shooting range, and ‘live life on the edge’ with an overnight stay at a treehouse perched on a hillside.
In the final episode, Paddy and Northern Ireland comedian Mickey Bartlett experience the delights of country living in Ballybogey, Co Antrim. The boys have a go at driving a train on a miniature railway and milk cows at a local farm, before bedding down for the night in the intimate surrounds of a converted horsebox.
Then it’s over to Nigel to add a touch of star quality to these bespoke promotional videos, before the big premiere at a special screening with tourism industry ‘bigwigs’. Will Nigel put these places firmly on the map?
Paddy And Nigel’s Tourist Trap is made by Stellify Media for BBC Northern Ireland. The full series will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer from Friday 4 April.
ML
