Dáithí Ó Sé has been banned from plugging his hair transplant on RTÉ.
The 47-year-old underwent the procedure this time last year at the Cosmetic and Hair Restoration Clinic in Tralee, Co Kerry.
The TV presenter has described it as the “best decision” he’s ever made, and even became the clinic’s brand ambassador.
After posting about his hair transplant online earlier this month, Dáithí was invited on to Oliver Callan’s RTÉ Radio One show to talk about the procedure.
However, the presenter was accused of giving the clinic free advertising on the show, and has now been told he can longer discuss his transplant on RTÉ platforms.
He told The Irish Sun: “I was on the understanding that I couldn’t speak about it on my own show. That was fine.
“But it was mentioned to me after that I couldn’t talk about it on any other RTE platforms either. I told (RTE), ‘Yes, if I know the rules I will stick by them’.”
Defending his appearance on RTÉ Radio One to discuss the transplant, the presenter explained: “I woke up at 7am, and at 7.30am, the researcher rang and asked would I come on that at 9am to tell my story to Oliver. That’s how it happened.”
“My relationship with RTE is such that I am not on a three or five-year contract. I am only on a contract for eight months a year with no certainty that my show is coming back,” he continued.
“So I don’t have a full-time job. I am not a member of staff, I work for eight months a year so when opportunities like this come, you’d be a fool to turn them down.”
The Kerry native also revealed he requested permission from RTÉ before he became an ambassador for the clinic.
“I asked RTE. It went all the way up the line and it came back eventually. It took them a long time to give it the go-ahead,” he said.
“If they’d had said ‘no’ to me being a brand ambassador, I would have still gone ahead and got (the hair transplant) done. People were going to end up talking about my hair anyway.”
“I could only be a brand ambassador for something I can stand over and believe in,” he stressed.
“If people want to take the mick out of me, they can do it all they want.
“It’s gas when I’m walking down the street in Cork at lunchtime, people say ‘I love your hair’ — and they say it with a smile.
“Everybody has been very positive about it. The reaction seems to be ‘this fella has spoken openly about something there has been a stigma attached to previously. He is not afraid to say, he got something done about it and that might make it easier for other young men’.”
