A Nasty start to 2024 for McGahern
Cavan funny man Kevin McGahern’s star is on the rise as he is set to feature in two separate TV series airing this month.
First up, Video Nasty is a dark comedy drama series set in the mid 1980s when the home video revolution is in full swing. It tells the story of three teenagers who go on a quest to complete a cult VHS collection. Instead, they get mixed up in a murder investigation, becoming chief suspects and public enemies.
Billy and Con manage to collect 71 of the 72 films on the banned list of video nasties. But when word gets out that they ‘borrowed’ money from the school graduation dance fund to pay for the tapes, they have to travel to England to get the final tape in order to pay the money back. They are accompanied on the quest by Con’s sister, Zoe, who wants a cut of the sale of the completed collection so that she can move out of home.
The quest goes horribly wrong when the owner of the tape is murdered. They quickly become chief suspects in the crime but, before they can be arrested, are abducted and held captive by an unhinged family desperate to prove the evils of video nasties by framing the teens for the murder in order to boost their campaign for censorship.
“It’s kind of a horror/comedy and was shot in counties Cavan (Cootehill Men’s shed); Monaghan (Glaslough, Monaghan Town, Tully, Emyvale, Glennan and Rossmore Park); and Tyrone so there is a Cavan connection to it as well,” Kevin told The Anglo-Celt this week.
“I was filming in Monaghan and it’s very, very funny - heavy on the comedy, and light on the horror. With the scary parts, they are quite effective because the viewer is lulled into a false sense of security with the comedy element.”
Filming took place in April 2024 and was “a lot of fun to make”, the Republic of Telly presenter added.
Video Nasty, meanwhile, will feature a number of rising stars of Irish acting including Justin Daniels (Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale), Cal O’Driscoll (The Teacher), Leia Murphy (Fair City), Simone Kirby (Kneecap).
“It has aired on BBC 1 NI and drops on Virgin Media on January 20 next. It’s such a wonderful production to be part of; it’s so well written, the writer Hugh Travers did such a great job in bringing the laughs and the scares.”
For any 80s’ and 90s’ children who remember video rentals before streaming, Kevin said it’s a blast from the past.
“When my mother used to go shopping in Cavan, I would spend hours in Xtra Vision looking at all the videos on display. So anyone who has fond memories of the VHS craze in the 1980s and 90s will definitely appreciate it.”
Watch Video Nasty on Monday, January 20, at 9pm on Virgin Media Play and Virgin Media One.
Kevin is also involved in Cheap European Houses, presenting the show alongside Maggie Molloy which will be aired on RTE One next month. Filmed across Europe in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, the show enables Irish couples to choose a suitable house overseas.
“We give them a choice of three different houses; I introduce them to people who have already made the move and help them integrate into local society,” he explained of the programme concept.
“The value that people can get abroad when it comes to buying homes is just unbelievable and they are also living in a completely different culture.
“A lot of the places we were looking at are not based in the main cities and it was a great opportunity for me to experience different cultures and food. In fact the food was fantastic…
“We didn’t get a bad meal the entire time we were shooting the programme and the people were so friendly as well. The weather was lovely - I couldn’t really complain too much about the weather.”