Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar among famous faces pushed to their limits in new RTE adventure series

Leo Varadkar, Lyra, Kneecap, Joe Canning, Thomas Barr, Ellen Keane and Ashling Thompson brave it out on brand-new RTÉ adventure series

A new RTÉ series sees adventurer and former special forces soldier Ray Goggins take well-known Irish faces from the worlds of politics, music and sport on extreme outdoor expeditions through some of the most remote and treacherous environments on Earth, pushing each participant far beyond their comfort zone in the ultimate test of survival and resilience.

Each week, Ray challenges a new well-known pairing with a physically and mentally demanding adventure, designed to push each participant to their limits. As they face the wild together, the experience becomes more than just an adrenaline rush — it’s a deeply emotional journey. Bonds are forged, stories shared, and vulnerabilities surface, as Ray guides participants through a transformative wilderness challenge. Will these experiences reveal something new to the viewer about these well-known personalities?

The line-up includes former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who teams up with singer Lyra to travel with Ray to the wild untamed mountains of Drakensberg, South Africa. The unlikely trio sleep in caves, scale gigantic peaks and climb sheer rock faces as they make their way to the top of one of the tallest waterfalls on the planet, Tugela Falls. No stranger to scaling political heights, how will Leo fare when faced with a death-defying vertical climb to the top of the Drakensberg Escarpment?

Watch Trailer: Uncharted with Ray Goggins

Rap trio Kneecap join Ray in the far north for a gruelling five-day Arctic experience that will test the lads’ resilience in a landscape where temperatures can drop below minus 40. An icy blast threatens the entire experience, forcing them to seek shelter from the extreme cold. Paralympic gold medallist Ellen Keane and six-time All-Ireland Camogie star Ashling Thompson travel to Bolivia to the start of the fabled ‘Death Road’ on a seven-day challenge, trekking close to 100KM through the dense cloud forest of Bolivia, negotiating raging rivers, punishing terrain and wild jungle. Climbing ever higher into the Andean Mountains, Ellen and Ashling show all their resilience as they traverse glaciers and snowfields to make a 6088-metre summit attempt. It will be one of the toughest tests of their lives.

Champion Galway hurler Joe Canning and track and field star Thomas Barr meet Ray in Colombia, where they will embark on a gruelling journey navigating deadly class five river rapids for what is an unforgettable and dangerous challenge, pushing both to their limits in unfamiliar territory. Met by Ray with warnings of deadly snakes and venomous spiders, their route back to civilisation will take five days navigating the rapids, with both accomplished sportsmen digging deep.

The four-part series is independently produced by Diffusion Media for RTÉ.

Episode 1 of Uncharted with Ray Goggins featuring Leo Varadkar and Lyra airs on RTÉ One| RTÉ Player on Wednesday, May 14 at 9.35pm