Initially presented (up to season 2) by reporter Evelyn O'Rourke replaced by Darren Kennedy (season 3), the event saw six hopefuls, selected by Gerry Ryan on his radio show, attempt to reshape their lives as they are supported and guided by a panel of experts in the fields of fitness, nutrition and psychology in order to reach their individual goals.
Each year the event culminates in a grand finale, in which the contestants present their new selves to their loved ones and the viewing and listening public.
[4] The 2008 event saw six hopefuls, selected by Ryan on his radio show, attempt to reshape their lives as they were supported and guided by a panel of experts in the fields of fitness, nutrition and psychology in order to reach their individual goals.
The event culminated in a grand finale from the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Swords, County Dublin, broadcast on Thursday 28 February 2008, in which the six contestants presented their new selves to their loved ones and the viewing and listening public.
[6] Six months after the show's finale, the television programme Operation Transformation Revisited was commissioned to investigate the welfare of the contestants.
For the first time, there was an Operation Transformation Roadshow, which took place at a number of destinations throughout November and December.
[21] Ciara Dunne (a nurse),[22] Amanda Casey, Conor O'Connor, Anna Naughton and Penny Dwyer all participated.
[23] Reviewing the finale for The Irish Times, Kevin Courtney observed the "non-stop soundtrack of classic pop songs [which] resembled a 2FM show from the 1980s".
[36] Thousands of people took part in the Operation Transformation 5k Fun Run in the Phoenix Park on 18 February 2012.
[41] The five leaders were: Deirdre Hosford, Charlotte O'Connell, Monica Percy, Gavin Walker and Gregg Starr.
The six leaders were: Jennifer Burns, Deirdre O'Donovan, Paudie O'Mahony, Siobhan McKillen, Sarah Campbell and Marc Gibbs.
[44] This year Operation Transformation teamed up with the Irish Heart Foundation to hold the first ever National Blood Pressure Day.
The five leaders were: Dan Kennedy, Lucy Dillon, John Conmy, Clare Scanlon and Noeleen Lynam.
[47] Dan had a pre-existing medical condition that neither his GP nor the Operation Transformation team was aware of.
[47] The five leaders were: Mairead Redmond, Seán Daly, Yvonne Keenan-Ross, Chris McElligott and Marie Grace.
[51] The five leaders were: Siobhan O'Brien 30 from Dublin, Paul Murphy 41 from Sligo, Cathal Gallagher 48 from Donegal, Jean Tierney 33 from Limerick and Pamela Swayne 36 from Cork.
The weigh-in outfits were no longer lycra crop tops, bicycle shorts and leggings.
The five leaders are: Stephanie Bowden, Andrea Day, Thomas Hynes, Lorraine Dempsey and Marie Clear.
Programme producer Philip Kampff had expressed wanting to pitch it to the United States previously but was finding it difficult, due to the non-competitive nature of the format.