Gay Byrne's old sparring partner, Mike Murphy, has put the Late Late Show back at the top of the TV ratings.
The Late Late Show tribute to Mike Murphy, the penultimate programme of the season, topped last week's AC Nielsen weekly ratings with one of the highest audiences for the show this year.
The Murphy tribute attracted 650,000 viewers over the age of 15, 150,000 more than the average adult figure for the Late Late in April.
Murphy is to retire soon as presenter of the Arts Show to concentrate on his business interests.
The Late Late Show has fallen as low as eighth in the monthly ratings for adult viewers since Pat Kenny took over from Gay Byrne as presenter last September.
However, in an interview in the latest issue of Hot Press, Murphy backs Kenny, arguing that he should be given a few years to settle into the job. Kenny, he says, has "put on Gay's overcoat and it doesn't quite fit. But as Pat Kenny he's excellent."
roddyosullivan@ireland.com
