I'm well able for MOD's mullet jibes -- Shane

Laura Butler

HE'S been getting a roasting on national television for his famous mullet haircut, but rugby legend Shane Byrne has insisted he's "well able" to handle the slagging. The former hooker told the Herald that he's not fazed by magazine boss Michael O'Doherty's jibes about his appearance on Celebrity Come Dine With Me.

"If I wasn't able to handle the slagging about my hair at this stage, there'd be something wrong with me. Nothing he can say would make me change my mind about it.

"I'm a rocker at heart, I hate short hair. I've had a mullet for years, I once cut it when I was 14 -- I got a chest infection and blamed it on the haircut," laughed the 40-year-old. "I'm not making a fashion statement."

Tensions between the two men have been rising on the TV3 series all week. Last night's instalment saw VIP publisher MOD move on from slagging Shane's hair to poking fun at his weight.

He and model Madeline Mulqueen even tried on the rugby veteran's dinner jacket, embarrassing the Wicklow man.

But thick-skinned Shane couldn't care less about MOD's cheekiness: "Sure, he's only half a man, there's not a lot of him really."

Shane has been tuning in to the TV3 programme to watch with his family: "The kids wanted to see it, it's all just a bit of fun really."

Viewers will see heavy metal fan Shane round out the week of cook-offs on Friday's episode at his home.

He said that while filming the show was fun, the hours were long. "It was a good group, but it's grueling going through all the filming. There was always entertainment to be had though ... Everyone's been in touch a bit, but our lives don't cross that often.

"I can cook but I don't, my wife would love me to cook more, so it's been a complete backfire for me doing the show, now Caroline is making me do more in the kitchen."

labutler@herald.ie