Donie O’Sullivan was dropped from The Late Late Show line-up at the last minute, according to a new report.
Patrick Kielty hosted his first episode of the RTÉ flagship programme last month and while viewers were impressed by the comedian, many were left disappointed by a lacklustre line-up.
Earlier this month, Jane Murphy, who had been working on the revamped series over the past five months, departed the show amid reports of “tensions” behind the scenes over the selection of guests.
The Sunday Independent has now reported that Patrick “begged” the executive producer to stay with the show, and that some team members are feeling “demoralised” after her sudden departure.
An insider compared the behind the scenes tensions to the fictional events depicted in the Apple TV series The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
The publication also claimed that popular CNN journalist and Kerry native Donie O’Sullivan was set to appear on Patrick’s first show but just two days before the new season premiere, he was scrapped by Alan Tyler – RTÉ’s group head of entertainment.
Donie was then reportedly replaced by comedy duo The 2 Johnnies.
According to the report a flight had already been booked to bring Donie to Dublin from the United States, and members of his family were booked into hotels before the decision to scrap his appearance was made.
The insider told the publication: “What happened that week was the researchers had booked Donie O’Sullivan.
“Jane had signed off on it, and even Alan had signed off on it. A flight was booked for Donie, to fly him from the States. He even had to get permission from CNN so they could release him.”
“Then, on the Wednesday [September 13], Alan said: ‘No, we are dropping Donie and will get The 2 Johnnies instead.’ The cost of the flight, which was four figures, was lost.”
“And that happened on the same day that the director general [Kevin Bakhurst] was at the Oireachtas committee meeting, having just announced a recruitment freeze and a freeze on discretionary spending.”
“The team were horrified. They tried to change his flights to another day, but Donie had already checked in online so they couldn’t. Members of his family were coming up from Cahersiveen and that all had to be cancelled.”
In response to questions asked by the Sunday Independent, RTÉ said: “As RTÉ’s flagship entertainment show, the relaunch of The Late Late Show with Patrick Kielty was of key importance this summer and was of course overseen by group head of entertainment, music and comedy Alan Tyler, working with The Late Late Show team.”
“With such a long-running show, it’s particularly important that we take a fresh look at what the audience want for their Friday nights with their new host. Part of this process involves the programme team asking itself challenging questions, and challenging conventional approaches.”
“We’re delighted that audiences have connected so strongly with the new host and new iteration of the show with the ratings being up year on year.”
“We’re committed to continuing to deliver the best possible live Friday night experience to the audience.”
Goss.ie has contacted Donie and RTÉ for comment.
