Nicky Byrne has confirmed that he will take a break from his show on RTÉ 2FM to go on tour with Westlife.
Following the announcement of the boyband’s reunion, regular listeners of Nicky’s radio show were keen to find out whether the presenter would continue the programme or not.
Speaking at a press conference in The Intercontinental Hotel today, the 40-year-old announced that he will take a break from the radio slot.
“Obviously for the four months of the tour I can’t be on radio while I’m on tour in the U.K. and Ireland, so that’s going to be difficult. But I don’t see it as the end of my run on radio, certainly not with Jenny,” he said.
“But I do understand that when I’m away, 2FM has to keep evolving, they can’t sit around and wait for me.
“We’ve all in 2FM done a fantastic job, all the presenters, the producers, to turn it around. But certainly, I’d say next summer I won’t be on air for a certain amount of time,” he revealed.
The father-of-three does plan on going back to radio following the tour though, but he can’t guarantee when he will return to the airwaves.
“If the Westlife thing explodes into a worldwide tour and albums and songs that are taking over. I’m presuming that 2FM, my break from it, will have to extend for some time. But I would always hope to return. I would always hope to go back and do it, I genuinely love my job and what I’m doing with Jenny. It’s great fun.”
As for family life and his other presenting role on Dancing with the Stars, Nicky isn’t too worried about trying to juggle the roles.
“It’s a great position to be in. First and foremost anyway, well all of us are in relationships, but we’re husbands and partners and fathers. That’s the most important thing, that’s the most difficult thing to juggle when you go into a band like this. There’s older bands than us that do it so that’s one positive,” the presenter explained.
“With Dancing with the Stars, it’s twelve weekends from January to the end of March at the moment. So, I suppose that can be catered for because weekdays, if I wasn’t on radio every day recording can be, as I’ve been doing at the moment, nipping back and forth to London. That can be catered for, it’s a brilliant show, I love doing it, it’s huge etc.”
The foursome are set to embark on their first tour since 2012 next summer, kicking off in Belfast’s SSE Arena on 25th May and ending in Croke Park on July 5th.
