Ryan Tubridy has firmly ruled out a return to RTÉ, after securing “the best deal” with Virgin Radio.
In his first press interview since landing his new radio show in the UK, the presenter praised his agent Noel Kelly for negotiating the deal, branding him the “best in the business”.
A well-placed source told Goss.ie that the deal was signed last week while Ryan was in the UK, following weeks of negotiations with his agent.
And on Thursday, after weeks of speculation, the 50-year-old confirmed he would be hosting a new show on Virgin Radio from January 4th, 2024.
Speaking to the Irish Sun, Ryan said: “Noel negotiated the best deal. He is the best in the business and always was … and he’s got on extremely well with the management here at Virgin.
“I’ve had a bunch of people around me, advising me in the last few months and they have been spectacular. And Noel is the best in the land.”
While many speculated Ryan would part ways with his agent following the RTÉ payments scandal earlier this year, the broadcaster insisted: “No question, Noel will remain my agent. He is also my friend, which I think is really important.
“And that’s what it’s all about — loyalty, and trust and standing by who and what you believe. And look at that today, here I am starting a new career in London.”
While RTÉ’s Director General Kevin Bakhurst has said “the door is not shut” on Ryan returning to RTÉ in the future, the presenter has ruled that out completely.
When asked if he would ever return to RTÉ, he laughed: “In a word, ‘no’.”
“I am happy to be in Virgin Radio — my new home. I don’t see any reason to go back there because I am starting a new beginning here,” Ryan continued.
“Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying, ‘Oh, that place,’ because I had 20 years of lovely experience on TV in Ireland.
“I loved working in RTE. I worked with the best in the business in RTE. I had the best team in the business and they remained steadfast and loyal, and kind, and I do miss them. I will always cherish my time there.
“Now I am going to have a great time with someone else. I have a future here. This is where I am happy. It’s all here. I have a new start in a new city with new colleagues.”
The 50-year-old insisted RTÉ is in his “rear-view mirror”, but said he was thinking of his former colleagues – who were recently rocked by the news of up to 400 job losses.
“Yes, I do feel for them. It’s a very difficult time for RTE, and I hope they sort it all out,” he said.
“I hope my colleagues, are doing OK. They are the real stars of that organisation, the people who work on the ground.”
Virgin Radio is owned by Wireless Group, which is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The company owns Talk TV, Talk Radio, and Virgin Radio, along with several radio stations in Ireland – including Dublin’s FM104 and Q102.
Ryan previously hinted at a potential role with Wireless Group, as he met with Talk TV host Piers Morgan and Virgin Radio DJ Chris Evans during a trip to London in September.
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 4th.
Kevin continued: “I think part of the discussion throughout with me and Ryan Tubridy have been about the need to take responsibility on both sides, and RTE has taken responsibility, has born the vast majority of responsibility, for what went wrong here.”
“But I also felt it was important that Ryan himself owned a certain amount of responsibility for this, and we had some discussions about that, and that was important.”
“I think the statement yesterday muddied the waters somewhat, and I think it’s really important that Grant Thronton and the RTE board restated the earnings correctly for those years, and I don’t think it helps to undermine that. We need to all accept the restated earnings, that is the fact of it.”
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.”
The next day, RTÉ boss Kevin Bakhurst released a statement confirming Ryan wouldn’t be returning to his radio role.
“We went into negotiations with Ryan in good faith and in the hopes of reaching an agreement that would see Ryan return to his RTÉ Radio 1 show. I have decided not to continue with negotiations and, as such, there are no plans for Ryan to return to his presenting role with RTÉ at this time,” he said.
“Despite having agreed some of the fundamentals, including fee, duration and hours, regretfully, it is my view that trust between the parties has broken down.”
“Public statements made without consultation appear to question the basis for the necessary restatement of fees paid for services for 2020 and 2021.”
RTÉ was plunged into chaos by the payments scandal in June, just weeks after Ryan finished up his 14-year tenure as host of The Late Late Show.
In a shock statement, the broadcaster confirmed that Ryan’s earnings had been publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
The issue was identified during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, prompting an independent review of the matter by auditing organisation Grant Thornton.
The RTÉ Board issued an apology over the error, and Ryan later apologised for not questioning RTÉ over his published earnings.
The scandal resulted in the resignation of a number of RTÉ’s key staff members – including former Director General Dee Forbes, and former Director of Strategy Rory Coveney.
RTÉ’s former Commercial Director Geraldine O’Leary later announced her early retirement.
In July, Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly met with the Oireachtas Media Committee, where they faced questioning over payments made to him by RTÉ.
The understatement of Ryan’s earnings was identified during a routine audit of RTÉ’s 2022 accounts, prompting an independent review of the matter.
The issue was partly the result of a commercial deal which saw Ryan receive additional income from Renault, which was guaranteed and underwritten by RTÉ.
The commercial partner only paid €75,000 to Tubridy once in 2020, but RTÉ paid out for the years 2021 and 2022. The manner in which these payments were recorded led to an understatement of his earnings.
RTÉ labelled two invoices of €75,000 payments to Ryan as “consultancy fees”, and the now-infamous barter account was used to pay them.
