Tubridy succeeds Kenny as 'Late Late Show' presenter

WHEN RYAN Tubridy was young, his friends' parents often remarked that he talked so much he would end up presenting The Late Late Show.

Yesterday they were proved right when RTÉ announced that he would be the new presenter of the station’s longest-running chat show. He will host his first show on September 5th.

Other presenters under consideration for the role included his colleagues Miriam O’Callaghan and Gerry Ryan. Mr Tubridy said there was no interview for the job “but conversations were had”.

The father-of-two said the news came as a complete shock. He received a phone call when he was having lunch yesterday, telling him to be in the director general’s office at 3pm. “The sandwich wilted. My appetite disappeared,” he said.

“My heart did not for one moment suggest to me that I was going to get this job . . . I’m still beside myself with surprise.”

His 10-year-old daughter Ella immediately realised the implications of her dad’s new job. “The Toy Show!” she shouted from the back of the car when he called his mother to tell her the news. “That was the nicest phone-call I’ve ever made in my whole life.”

He said he had strong ideas for the show and wanted to increase its entertainment value. He would be reluctant to get involved in “big long-winded current affairs debate”.

“I’d love to bring a bit more dialogue back to the television. A little more Parky, a little less [Jonathan] Ross.” Dream interviewees would include Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Paul McCartney, he said.

“Don’t worry, we are not out to frighten you. We do this kind of thing on a daily basis on radio, so give us a chance.”

He said The Late Late Showwas "one of those jobs that comes along once in a generation" and he was humbled by the appointment.

“This is an iconic television programme that has been the cultural wallpaper to my life growing up.”

Mr Tubridy, who will turn 36 later this month, began broadcasting at the age of 12 when he reviewed books for the radio show Poporama.

He worked on a number of shows in RTÉ, including ones presented by Gerry Ryan and Pat Kenny, before getting his own radio and television shows.

He has been hosting Tubridy Tonightsince 2004. It has an average audience of 517,000, compared with 682,000 for The Late Late Show.

Outgoing presenter Pat Kenny congratulated Mr Tubridy and said “I wouldn’t presume to offer Ryan advice . . . One thing I would say is that he should do his own thing.”

RTÉ’s managing director of television, Noel Curran, said the station had “thought long and hard about who the right presenter is to bring The Late Late Show into its 48th year and its next incarnation”.

Pat Kenny's last Late Late Showwill be broadcast on May 29th. RTÉ is still considering what to do with the Saturday night slot vacated by Tubridy Tonight.