The couple have great chemistry on TV together and viewers love seeing them and while they don’t want to overdo it, they wouldn’t rule out more joint TV projects, they told Chic Magazine
Daniel and Majella on High Road, Low Road(Image: )
Daniel and Majella O’Donnell have travelled the world together over the course of their marriage, but even for a couple as well-seasoned as they are, their latest adventure brought something new and a fresh sense of fun. This month, the beloved pair return to our screens as part of the new series of RTÉ’s High Road, Low Road, for a holiday with a difference.
High Road, Low Road has become a firm favourite with viewers with the celebrity twosomes arriving at a destination only to be split in two, with one enjoying a luxury, high-end experience while the other must explore the same place on a shoestring budget. Neither knows which road they’ll be sent down until the very last moment. For Daniel and Majella, that element of surprise was part of the fun.
“Ah, it was great,” Daniel says simply. “We went in October and really enjoyed it. When they asked us, we were able to find a time that worked, so we said sure it might be a bit of fun and we’d give it a go.”
While Majella admits she was much more excited by the prospect. “I was excited to give it a go,” she laughs. “Daniel doesn’t do really excited.”
The couple flew to Zadar, on Croatia’s stunning Dalmatian Coast, a destination that delivered far more than either of them expected. From white-water rafting to traditional lace-making, and even smearing themselves in medical mud on a local beach, it was a far cry from the relaxed breaks they sometimes favour.
A big part of the tension – and fun – of High Road, Low Road lies in not knowing who will get the luxury treatment and who will be navigating the budget experience. Daniel insists he didn’t mind either way. “That was part of it alright, we didn’t know who would get what. You’ll have to wait and see. But I wasn’t too pushed. I didn’t really mind which option I would get.”
Majella admits she was a little more conflicted but laughs that it was all part of the fun. “We both knew we could do the low road, no problem. I’m a very earthy kind of person, so it wouldn’t bother me. But having said that, of course I was hoping for the higher end version – the nice food and the nice hotel!”
Even before they boarded the plane, the experience felt different to anything they’d done before. “It was a great surprise at the airport,” Majella explains. “First there’s the envelope to discover who’s going high and who’s going low, and then to discover where you’re going. I didn’t realise how far-flung some of the destinations on this show have been – Japan, America, South Africa. I thought it was mostly European. They’ve gone to some fabulous places.”
For both Daniel and Majella, one of the biggest pleasures of the experience was having everything planned out for them. “It’s a chance to experience something you might never book yourself,” Majella says. “It reminded me a bit of the B&B Road Trip – you don’t know what you’ll be doing next, but your day is organised and you end up seeing things you’d never normally see.”
Daniel agrees. “We were there for a short time, but we saw loads and did loads. It was actually better than so many trips we’ve done before, because when you go away yourself, you don’t always see as much as you could. Somebody else had planned it all, and that made a big difference.”
The experience has even changed how Majella approaches travel now. “I said to Daniel afterwards that in future I’m going to research places more. We tried things we wouldn’t even have known existed. There are so many apps now that tell you what to do and how to book things. It makes a place much more memorable.”
Viewers have always loved seeing Daniel and Majella on screen together, and their easy banter is a huge part of that appeal. While Daniel is known for being slightly more reserved, Majella believes TV shows like High Road, Low Road allow people to see a different side of him. “When you see a couple interacting, doing silly things and bouncing off each other, that’s what people enjoy. You definitely see that side of us on this show”, though Daniel admits for those that know them the couple’s easy banter and humour is nothing new, adding:“We’re not much different at home, really.”
Their on-screen chemistry has led to repeated calls for more joint TV projects, but the couple are careful not to overdo it. “We were asked to do more of the B&B Road Trip,” Daniel explains, “but we felt we’d probably done enough of it at that stage.”
Majella laughs at the reasoning behind that decision. “We thought people would get sick of looking at us. We said we’d take a break – and then they showed a lot of repeats, so as it turned out, the public didn’t really get a break at all!”
Still, she wouldn’t rule out more projects together. “We do love doing stuff like this, I think we work well on television. There’s good banter between us.”
Travel has long been a shared passion for the pair, though they admit they approach it slightly differently. Majella is more inclined towards adventure, while Daniel is happiest with a round of golf. “Sometimes we just go somewhere and walk around, and that’s it,” she says. “But this time everything was organised, so we had to do it – and I loved it. I’ll definitely do more of that in future.”
Daniel acknowledges that busy touring schedules can sometimes leave him craving rest rather than adventure. “When I’m travelling a lot with work, sometimes you just want to relax. That’s why we love cruising. You see different places but you’re not dragging bags around. Your bags are already unpacked,” Majella adds.
As for dream destinations, the couple feel fortunate to have already seen so much of the world. “There’s nowhere I’m dying to go,” Majella says. “Maybe Poland, for the history. The Far East is just another world – completely different, but we’ve done those places. I feel very lucky.”
Daniel adds. “We’re going to Norway on a cruise in June. And I’d still love to stay in one of those water huts someday – Mauritius or somewhere like that. We keep talking about it.”
This year marks a significant change of pace for Daniel, who has stepped back from touring for health reasons after 45 years on the road. “I’ve just started the break really and I’m feeling good,” he says. “I’ve had some allergy issues and chest infections, but nothing serious. I’m not unwell. I just wanted time to figure out what was causing them, and after 45 years on the road this year, I felt the time was right to just have some time off too.”
He still has a handful of commitments planned, including the Gertrude Byrne cruise, the Opry shows, the Mary From Dungloe festival and Relay for Life in Donegal with Majella. Beyond that, he’s allowing himself to slow down. “We’ll see what God allows.”
When it comes to downtime, Daniel is confident he’ll manage just fine. “I play golf, I play bridge, and I’d like to go to more bridge conventions.”
Majella, on the other hand, admits she struggles to do nothing. “I feel guilty if I’m sitting still,” she laughs. “I end up in the garden weeding.”
Daniel laughs. “I’m inside playing bridge online, watching her out the window.”
With more time together now on the horizon, Majella jokes that it could take some adjustment. “We might end up killing each other,” she laughs, with Daniel joking: “You’ll probably send me away with my bags.”
Catch Daniel and Majella on High Road Low Road this Tuesday January 20 at 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and watch the rest of the series live every Tuesday at 7pm on RTÉ One.
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