Operation Transformation will be returning to our screens this year earlier than its usual January debut, but this time round there will be some familiar faces being put through the paces as the show has its first ever Celebrity version.

The series will kick off in the autumn and while it hasn't been confirmed just who will be taking part, we do know there will be six involved and casting is currently underway.

A source has said that recruiting the celebs however has to be done quite delicately; "Nobody wants to be told that they're overweight and would be a good candidate for a weight-loss show.

"So it's being approached like it's more of a lifestyle issue and then the person is asked if they have any bad habits that they'd like to change in terms of their eating," he said.

According to the Herald, the contestants are being offered up to €5,000 to take part, and they won't have to worry about appearing in their smalls on national television either, which we're just fine with. Nobody needs to see Joe Duffy in his underwear (we have no idea if Joe Duffy is taking part).

Katherine Thomas will be returning to host the series and fitness trainer Karl Henry is also on board, with the show set to follow a similar format to the regular programme.

Given that the show pulls in almost half a million viewers per episode, there's no doubt this will prove popular. Now all we have to do is find out who is involved... here's our guess;

Joe, Blathnaid, Marty, Lottie, Daithi and someone that was famous in the nineties.

Not that any of these folk are over-weight, they're just the usual suspects really, aren't they?