Leading RTE broadcasters at odds over interview with Eamon Dunphy

A row between two of RTÉ's top broadcasters has broken out following comments by one about the other on radio yesterday.

Sources close to 2FM presenter Gerry Ryan, say he is "absolutely livid" about comments made by Marian Finucane on her morning programme about his Ryan Confidential programme, broadcast on RTÉ television on Thursday night.

The programme, which featured a long interview with journalist and broadcaster Eamon Dunphy, included a sequence filmed in Dobbins restaurant in Dublin. At the start of Ms Finucane's programme yesterday she read out one of what she said was a "confetti of e-mails" about the programme.

The viewer who wrote the e-mail said he was "embarrassed" for Mr Dunphy, whom he said had been allowed to appear drunk on screen. "He was clearly exploited in the interest of viewing figures," read the e-mail. Ms Finucane commented she had seen the programme and added: "Clearly people were jarred at the end of it."

At the start of the Ryan Confidential interview in question, Mr Ryan himself commented that Mr Dunphy had one glass of wine during its course.

At the end of her programme yesterday Ms Finucane read a statement from Mr Kevin Dawson, commissioning editor of factual programmes at RTÉ, in which he said Mr Dunphy had not been drunk during the interview. "He may have seemed that way to some viewers because he was certainly excitable, passionate and even florid. But his condition and appearance were never an issue for us at RTÉ."

His statement went on to confirm Mr Dunphy had one glass of wine during the interview.

Though Mr Ryan would not comment on his RTÉ colleague's allusions about the programme, sources close to him say he intends taking the matter further and is particularly angry at the implication that Mr Dunphy was exploited "for viewer figures".

A spokeswoman for Blueprint Productions, which produces Ryan Confidential, said the company had not been contacted by the Marian Finucane Show for their side until five minutes before transmission. "To say we exploited a guest for viewing figures just isn't acceptable," she said. She said there had been no complaints to the company about the programme.

A spokeswoman for RTÉ said there were five calls to the Marian Finucane Show and about 20 to the RTÉ switchboard about Thursday night's broadcast. Most of these concerned the use of bad language.

Mr Adrian Moyne, director of radio, said Ms Finucane had been reading a listener's views and that, apart from saying "people were clearly jarred", the views read out were not her own. No-one from the Marian Finucane Show was available for comment. Mr Dunphy was also unavailable.