Veteran coaches will compete against newbies Ellen Keane, Michael Darragh MacAuley and Andrew Trimble.

The 13th series will include a new format, star coaches, adrenaline-pumping challenges and new locations. The show will be presented by Laura Fox, along with veterans Davy Fitzgerald, Anna Geary, and Donncha O’Callaghan.

New faces include champion swimmer Ellen Keane and the winner of eight All-Ireland medals, Michael Darragh MacAuley, and Irish rugby legend, Andrew Trimble.

Taking place in the Gormanston Army camp, four families will compete in heats over three weeks.

Each week, one original coach will go head-to-head with a new coach – and it’s Anna vs. Michael Darragh, Davy vs. Ellen, and Donncha vs. Andrew.

Viewers will also see the families put through their paces and pushed to the edge physically and mentally through the brand-new challenges set by members of the Irish Defence Forces.

In Box to the Top, the sporty families start off in the ice-cold sea and embark on a head-to-head race along an army training ground, carrying kit bags and sandbags along the way.

The competing families will then face the Truck Pull – attempting to pull a 7.5 tonne army vehicle along a decommissioned runway.

Kicking off week one are Anna and Michael Darragh, each with two families.

Anna’s McClements family from Down and Carr family from Westmeath take on Michael Darragh’s Walshs from Cork and Byrne’s from Dublin.

The families will battle it out for one of three places in the next round of Ireland’s Fittest Family.

At the end of episode one, when the scores of the first two events are combined, the two highest-scoring go through to the next round, and the two families at the bottom have to face off in the Army Eliminator.

Alan Tyler, RTÉ group head of entertainment and music, said:  ”The show is a firm Sunday evening family favourite, and it’s great to welcome some brand-new coaches to join our much-loved veterans, along with some hugely challenging new tasks.

“All told, it promises to be the toughest contest yet for our competing families, every one of whom will be running, jumping, hanging, climbing, and crawling their way towards the finish line in a bid to be crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family.”

The show will air Sunday, November 2 on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 6.30pm.