A very famous Irish face has taken a swipe at RTÉ and made a huge prediction about Ryan Tubridy’s future in the UK.
The 50-year-old will move to London in the New Year, after landing his own show on Virgin Radio – which will kick off on January 2nd.
Brendan O’Carroll, creator of the hit Irish sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys, has given his opinion on the presenter’s latest move.
Brendan told The Irish Sun: “If you asked me to place a bet, I’d say Ryan Tubridy will be one of the top interviewers in Britain in the next two years — because there’s definitely a touch of Terry Wogan about Ryan, in that he is very easy to listen to.”
“Audiences in Britain are going to absolutely love that about him.”
The comedian thinks Ryan should have made the move to the UK “years ago” after he covered for Terry Wogan and Graham Norton on BBC Radio 2.
The actor said: “I’m surprised it didn’t happen then, but it’s happening now and I’ve no doubt Ryan is going to be huge in the UK. Remember he is hitting the ground running with all that experience hosting the Late Late Show and doing his radio show on RTE.”
“He is one of the best interviewers I’ve met, and always a pleasure to deal with. I’m betting he’s gonna be huge in Britain, and I’ll be delighted because Ryan’s such a nice guy.”
The news of Ryan’s new job came months after the 50-year-old lost his RTÉ Radio 1 slot, amid the ongoing payments scandal.
Ryan was pulled from RTÉ’s airwaves back in June, after it was revealed his earnings were publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
Negotiations over his RTÉ radio contract had been put on hold amid the ongoing payment scandal, but RTÉ boss Kevin Bakhurst then confirmed that they had resumed in August.
While Ryan’s return to RTÉ seemed promising, Mr Bakhurst ceased negotiations with the presenter after he released a statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report.
Speaking on Prime Time, Mr Bakhurst confirmed they were “very close” to an agreement before Ryan’s statement.
The RTÉ boss said: “I don’t actually feel Ryan was best served by the people around him who advised him on making that statement.”
“I felt we were in a good place. We had a core agreement for Ryan to come back and the statement issued, which, you know, once again, questioned the newly stated salaries, which are correct.
“I just think for the sake of rebuilding trust, which is my focus with the organisation, we can’t afford to be questioning the facts that are out there.”
He also confirmed a salary of €170,000 had been agreed, and that Ryan was supposed to return to his radio show on September 4.
Ryan’s statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report read: “I welcome the findings of the Grant Thornton Report, published today. I also welcome the report’s findings that I did not claim €120,000 in fees which was due to me in 2020 and that I did not agree with how RTE proposed to account for this decision.”
“It is also clear that my actual income from RTE in 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years and RTE has not yet published its top ten earner details for 2022.”
He added: “I repeat my offer to publish the details of any future RTE contract. I am committed to re-establishing the confidence and trust of my colleagues and listeners, and I hope that any fair assessment of the findings of today’s report will help in this regard.”
“Finally, I want to acknowledge the huge support that I have received in recent weeks from people across the country; many cards and letters, greetings on the street and words of support from people I bumped into meant an awful lot to me and I appreciate them all very much.”
