Maura Derrane is stepping in to host Ryan Tubridy’s old RTÉ Radio 1 slot for the next few weeks.
The programme was renamed The Nine O’Clock Show following Ryan’s departure from the station, and has been temporarily hosted by Oliver Callan and Brendan Courtney.
But from 9am on Monday, Maura will step in as host for two weeks while Oliver works on a new season of his show Callan’s Kicks.
This will be her first time presenting on the radio, and Oliver has joked that listeners might hear a whole new side of the TV presenter – calling it “Maura Unleashed”.
Speaking on the show on Friday, he said: “I am going to be unavailable for the next couple of weeks so Maura Derrane will be the presenter.”
“She will be here for a fortnight. We know her well, of course, oodles of experience doing live telly but I believe this will be her first foray into live radio.”
“She will be grand. It’s Maura without the DáithÃ,” he added, referring to her RTÉ Today co-host Dáithà Ó Sé.
Oliver also confirmed that he and Brendan will return to present the show until a permanent presenter is announced.
The news comes after Maura said she was “sad” to see Ryan leave RTÉ during an interview earlier this week.
She said: “I’ve been on the Late Late Show a couple of times and Ryan is a nice guy. He’s a very experienced broadcaster… everyone was looking at it. I was looking at it like you were looking at it like a regular person’s perspective not having known anything.”
“It was a shock to me as it was to anyone else. I didn’t know anything about it. It’s sad. I think it is sad.
“Everything is sad that a broadcaster like Ryan is gone out of the mix but whatever he does he will do really well at it. I think it is sad the way it all ended up.”
Maura is also set to return to her full-time presenting duties on RTÉ’s Today show in the coming weeks, while Sinead Kennedy is on maternity leave.
