2FM star Nicky Byrne has revealed he’s turned down big-money offers to host a UK radio show.
The former Westlife singer told Goss.ie it was “flattering” that some of the “big stations” in London have come calling for him to ditch RTE.
It comes after the 36-year-old has seen immense success with the Nicky Byrne Show, which now pulls in 141,000 listeners.
And Nicky admitted he wouldn’t rule out leaving 2FM in the future – but for now he wants to stay with his family.
Winner: Nicky and Jenny won PPI Radio Award | IAIN WHITE
He told Goss.ie: “There have been a few offers that came up from the big stations and I wouldn’t rule it out, but I don’t have the time.
“It’s flattering and there’s a Westlife fan base in the UK that cannot listen to the 2FM show.
“I’m so busy here – if the right offer came up at the right time then of course I’d think about it.
“You look at Ryan Tubridy, who goes over to the BBC in the summer and it works out well for him – fair play. For me, I’ve very young kids and we holiday in the summer.
“I’ve toured an awful lot away from home and at the moment it’s really nice to be back in Ireland and at home. I’m only 36 though, I’ve a bit of time hopefully.”
2FM pal: Ryan Tubridy is who Nicky looks up to | RTE
And Nicky – who says he wants to work on radio “forever” – told Goss.ie it is amazing how quickly his radio show his Jenny Greene has taken off.
He added: “You can’t not be surprised by how the radio show has taken off and how quickly too, it’s fantastic.
“I always knew there was a radio show in me, I’ve loved radio since I was a kid and remember listening in to Chris Barry when he was on FM104.
“You grow up listening to talk shows. During the Westlife years I loved going in to a radio studio for promotional stuff, especially over in the UK, America and Australia, because they do shows very well and they’re all so fun.
“When I sat down with 2FM I knew I wanted my template to be that when people listened, they almost feel they’re in the studio having fun with us.
Perfect fit: Nicky feels radio worked after Westlife | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Teaming up with Jenny is brilliant and one of the great things there is that she’s been in radio so long and has a lot of experience, so if anything goes wrong she has that to bring to the table.
“We genuinely come in and just laugh. I want to do this forever, I really love it.”
But Nicky, who has written 11 tracks for a solo album, says that will only ever be a side project to his new-found love.
He said: “The solo album thing came about as a secondary thing. When Westlife finished and we all sat down individually to plan future careers, I knew I wanted to carve out something in TV and radio.”
He added: “With presenting, you can take that with you to anywhere in the world. I can host radio, I have a show reel and I can man the desk – and not that I ever want to leave Ireland, but it’s another string to your bow.”
