We are completely different but we seem to work well together – it’s like ying and yang,” explains Majella O’Donnell.

Majella, who is married to Daniel, is describing her relationship with the singer and, indeed, the pair are polar opposites. Daniel is the cool, calm and collected type, while Majella is more excitable and up for a challenge – but after 15 years together, it appears that the personality clash works quite well.

“Majella is probably more adventurous, but I cope better with the adventure,” jokes Daniel, recalling the various challenges the pair faced when filming their show, Daniel and Majella’s B&B Road Trip. One such trial involved a zipline in Co Mayo, which left Majella slightly shaken.

“He’s absolutely, 100% correct,” agrees Majella. “He will do things that he wouldn’t do normally because of me. I am all for the adventure but he is better than me.

“I think I am going to be great and in the end I’m not, and that surprises people. They think that Daniel is going to be very quiet but he is the complete opposite – I’m hell for leather, but I don’t have the nerve.”

After a successful stint on UTV Ireland, the pair will be returning to our screens for another series of the hit show, which will now air on RTÉ One.

Filmed during the summer, they visited B&Bs in Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Dublin, Leitrim, Mayo, Donegal, Down and Wexford, enjoying a range of activities from zorbing to sailing.

“We’re looking forward to seeing it and hopefully people will enjoy it just as much as the last one. We had a great time doing it. We met some great characters and saw some good parts of the country, so hopefully it will be enjoyed by all,” says Daniel.

“We did what the owners wanted us to do, from fishing in Waterford to horse-riding in Donegal,” he says.

“We went sailing on the Galway Hooker on Galway Bay and that was very meaningful, because my father used to have a Galway Hooker many years ago and we used to go out with him,” adds Majella.

“Those memories came back to me. The captain that we had knew my father in Galway, so that was really nice and special. They were all great fun, I have to say.”

Daniel has travelled across the country and the world as a performer, but not as a tourist. The show allowed him to indulge in everything Ireland has to offer as a holiday destination.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been in every small village in Ireland, but I have been to an awful lot of places since I started singing. You go and you do the show and you’re back again. This time, you’re on a different level altogether and you have time to see this and see that. It’s a different kind of experience. We enjoyed it immensely,” he says.

Majella agrees: “It was lovely to see different parts of the country, because we tend to go abroad, don’t we, instead of looking at our own country.”

Tour dates

After spending Christmas in Tenerife – where the couple met – there is more travel lined up for Daniel in 2017 with an all-star cruise and dates in Australia, New Zealand and the US. Majella is joining Daniel on the cruise, along with her daughter Siobhan, son-in-law Gavin, and baby Olivia, her first grandchild.

“She is like a breath of fresh air. She has given us much more joy and love. We spend an awful lot of time with her and she just is completely and utterly in love with Daniel, and vice versa. She just lights up our lives,” says Majella.

Daniel and Majella filmed the series over 12 days – a test for any relationship, but not for the O’Donnells.

“We didn’t really say anything that you wouldn’t want aired. The odd heated moment, but that’s normal,” says Daniel, diplomatically.

However, Majella found the schedule tough going. “The television only shows snippets but you’re constantly filming. You could be driving for two hours, and they are recording for two hours, so you have to be constantly having to talk about nothing, so that’s tiring,” she says.

But, despite the odd wobble, Majella is happy and enthusiastic about any opportunity that comes their way, from Strictly Come Dancing to the Road Trip.

“When something like [Strictly] comes up, he’d say: ‘What do you think?’ And I’d certainly say: ‘Absolutely, go for it.’ For the experience, if nothing else,” she says.

“We’re on this earth once, we have one shot at life. If you have the chance to experience something like that once, go for it.

“You never know what’s going to come out of it, friendships even. You need to try these things.” CL

The new series of Daniel and Majella’s B&B Road Trip starts on RTÉ One on 7 March at 8:30pm.