The most senior producer on the new series of The Late Late Show is to leave the programme, staff at RTÉ have been informed in an email circulated by the broadcaster’s head of entertainment, Alan Tyler.
In a circular to staff in that area, Mr Tyler hails the opening programmes of the new season, with Patrick Kielty presenting in place of Ryan Tubridy, as having “outstripped everyone’s expectations” and says the reaction of both audiences and the media has been “terrific”.
“It is a testament to the hard work of all involved,” he writes.
However, he goes on to tell the staff that the programme’s executive producer will be moving on, just three episodes into the new series.
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“I wanted to let you know about a move in the department,” he writes. “Jane Murphy is moving on from ‘The Late Late.....’. Jane has done a terrific job of overseeing the relaunch and moving the show into a new iteration with a new host. That is not easy, and it is great that this has landed so well.
“I know Jane will excel at what’s next and we will miss her. At the same time, I am delighted that Roisin O’Dea will be returning to the show, this time to exec.
“Roisin has done a great job in development, but I know that she is hugely excited about returning to the show and leading such a brilliant team. I also know that the series will continue to prosper under the guidance of Roisin and Kate [Olohan, the programme’s series producer, essentially the number two to the executive producer].”
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It is understood that the decision to leave the programme was Ms Murphy’s, as there had been differences over content and she did not believe she was given the autonomy she wanted.
Mr Tyler said on Thursday evening that Ms Murphy will be taking up a different role within the television department now that the series has been established. “I want to thank Jane for her steady stewardship and hard graft over the last five months to get the new show up and running and off to a great start. Myself, Patrick and the team are very grateful and have our heads down now in the flow of the new season,” he said.
Ms Murphy has spent almost 20 years at RTÉ, having previously worked in independent radio. She has worked on a string of high-profile television series featuring many of the station’s highest-profile presenters.
She had also held the position of series producer on The Late Late Show for three years between 2019 and 2022.
She was one of the driving forces behind Toy Show the Musical, the attempt at a commercial spin-off that lost about €2.2 million and attracted considerable criticism during recent Oireachtas hearings. It is understood that Ms Murphy has now gone to work in another area within RTÉ.
Ms O’Dea was also previously a series producer of The Late Late Show, having taken over from Ms Murphy a little over a year ago, and worked on Mr Tubridy’s final series on the programme before moving to a development role during the summer.
The first three Late Late Shows presented by Kielty have generally been well received, with reviewers positive about both his ability and his presentation style. There have, however, been criticisms over the profile of the guests.
The opening programme of the season attracted an average of 830,000, which was considered a huge success, but this had slipped back to about 486,000 last Friday. The broadcaster will be hoping this Friday’s country-music special provides something of a boost to those numbers.
