Ryan Tubridy has met with RTÉ’s new Director-General Kevin Bakhurst, amid ongoing speculation regarding his future with the broadcaster.
In a statement today, RTÉ said: “RTÉ Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst met with Ryan Tubridy in person this week for a one-to-one meeting.
“They had a good, open, and constructive conversation and will meet again in a few weeks. RTÉ has no further comment.”
The presenter’s future with RTÉ remains unclear amid the ongoing payments scandal.
On March 16th, the 50-year-old announced his shock decision to leave the broadcaster’s flagship programme, The Late Late Show, after 14 years at the helm.
Just weeks after he hosted his final episode of the late night talk show on May 26, RTÉ was plunged into chaos when it was revealed that Ryan’s earnings were publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
RTÉ has taken full responsibility for the misstatement of Ryan’s fees, but the presenter has not yet returned to work – and it is not yet known if he ever will.
Questions have been raised as to whether the impending controversy influenced his decision to step away from The Late Late Show.
However, Ryan has adamantly maintained that the two events were entirely uncorrelated, and that he made his decision to step down as host as early as last summer – which his fellow RTÉ star Maia Dunphy later backed up.
Earlier this month, Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly appeared before two Oireachtas Committees – the Public Accounts Committee and the Media Committee, to share their version of events.
When asked whether he’s still in contract with RTÉ during the hearing, the 50-year-old admitted it was his “understanding [that] I’m still in contract. My aim and hope is to go back to work.”
But elsewhere during the hearing, Ryan made a shocking statement, admitting he “could be out of a job by Friday”.
RTÉ’s interim Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch previously revealed that Ryan’s TV and radio contract had concluded, and that negotiations over his radio contract had been put on hold amid the ongoing scandal.
The 50-year-old has hosted an hour-long weekday slot titled The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 since September 2015; however, he has been off air since news of the payments scandal broke.
