The review finds Martin & Roman’s Irish Road Trip an oddly conceived celebrity travelogue, questioning why Martin Kemp and his son Roman were chosen to present a tour of Ireland given their limited connection to the country. It argues that the programme works best as a warm father-and-son bonding exercise, but its mixture of light humour, folklore, scenic travel and serious reflections on death leaves it uncertain of its tone.

Martin’s brief time living in Ireland during Spandau Ballet’s 1980s era and a disputed family claim of Irish ancestry provide the programme’s loose premise, while Roman’s jokes at his father’s expense supply much of its humour. The episode also visits Cork Harbour’s Spike Island, a former prison where the Kemps learn about harsh historical confinement, prompting Roman to describe it as a place without hope; elsewhere, he discusses anxiety about mortality and his parents’ eventual deaths.