Spotlight On: TV and radio presenter Lucy Kennedy

Lucy Kennedy is everyone’s favourite ‘Girl Next Door’. 

The popular presenter is Goss.ie’s latest Spotlight On cover star – and in this exclusive interview, she discusses “keeping it real” in an industry that can be notoriously “fake”.

The Dubliner worked behind-the-scenes for years before she finally got the courage to step in front of the camera, and since then, she has hosted some of the biggest shows in Ireland. 

The 46-year-old launched her career by presenting The Ex-Files in 2004, and two years later she began co-hosting The Podge and Rodge Show on RTÉ. 

In 2008, Lucy landed her very own show called Living With Lucy, which sees her move in with a host of famous faces for a weekend.

Over the years, she has lived with the likes of Jade Goody, Kerry Katona, Gemma Collins, Jedward, Sarah Harding, and Calum Best to name but a few – and the show is still going strong. 

As well as hosting a string of other TV shows, including Ireland’s Got Talent, Lucy has also been presenting on the radio for years.

She hosted a popular weekend breakfast on RTÉ 2FM with Baz Ashmawy for two years, until it was suddenly axed amid cuts at the station.

She now co-hosts The Colm and Lucy Breakfast Show with Colm Hayes on Radio Nova. 

And that’s not all.

Lucy is also the mum to three beautiful children, who she shares with her husband of 14 years Richard Governey.

The couple met when they were just 23-years-old and despite being together for half of Lucy’s life, she keeps their relationship out of the public eye. She explains why that is later in the interview. 

But first, it’s the question on everybody’s lips right now: Who will take over from Ryan Tubridy as the host of The Late Late Show?

In this interview, Lucy reveals she would throw her hat in the ring for the gig, but only on one condition… 

Check out our full chat with Lucy below:

You told us last month that hosting The Late Late Show wouldn’t be for you. Why is that?

“The Late Late Show, honestly and truly, wouldn’t play to my strengths in its current format. I would love to do The Toy Show because that is where my strengths lie, with people and children. I’d be in my element! But outside of The Toy Show, I don’t think I’d be equipped to interview a potential president of Ireland, but give me a Love Islander!”

“If they change the format, well then yes. But you know what? And I’m not just saying this because he’s a close friend, but whoever replaces Ryan Tubridy is filling such massive boots. I think people realise now how versatile he was. He could interview somebody like me and then Gerry Adams, and then he could move onto a parent who lost a child, he is just so versatile.”

“There’s so much pressure on whoever replaces Ryan Tubridy on The Late Late Show… He’s a once-off!”

“I think the reason different people’s names are being linked to the Late Late gig every day now is because RTÉ are finding it very hard to find the new Ryan Tubridy. And that’s because he does not exist. There’s only one Ryan. There’s so much pressure on whoever replaces him because he was The Late Late Show. And with The Toy Show in particular, there’s just huge pressure on the next presenter.”

“I am the opposite to everyone else in the running in that I wouldn’t be good at The Late Late Show, but I’d be good at The Toy Show. Maybe I can just do that, one night only! But if RTÉ have any sense they’ll beg Ryan to do The Toy Show every year, because my kids call him The Toy Man. He’s brilliant with kids. He’s just a once-off.”

A lot of people are saying it’s time for a female to take the reins of The Late Late Show. Do you agree with that? 

“Honestly, as a female working in the media, I think it should not be based on your gender. May the best man or woman win. I’m all about empowering women; I’m one of three girls and I’ve two daughters myself, and I’m very much a girls girl. But I think they’re concentrating too much on trying to get a female role as opposed to the right presenter.”

“I think RTÉ might feel under pressure to go down the female route because there’s never been a female presenter. And I’m not saying that there aren’t women that can’t do it – of course there are, there’s some incredible women in the industry. I think Miriam [O’Callaghan] would’ve been a great replacement. But it should be about finding the right person, not the right gender.”

Do you think it would be a good idea to get someone completely new to take over and revamp things, or do you think the role should go to someone who has been in the industry for a long time? 

“I think it has to go to somebody who has been in the industry for a long time. Somebody who has experience. I think it helps if you have a radio presence, because then you can promote your guests and talk about them. It seems to work well if you have the whole package.”

“I think the person who gets the job also has to be used to being under scrutiny, because they will come under it as the host of The Late Late Show. How Ryan has put up with all the negative comments – although there’s also a lot of positive ones! Some people are just sad and bored on a Friday night and they will go online just to be nasty to people.”

“So I think whoever gets the Late Late will have to be someone who has a strong foundation and who is not easily rocked, because you are heavily criticized, and your salary will be printed. You have to be able to take it.”

“Maybe RTÉ Should have a male and female present the late late show…”

Is there anyone that you would like to see take over from Ryan? 

“I would’ve liked Miriam out of everybody. She has interviewed me a few times and she has a lovely way about her. She’s also great craic, and is well able to handle let’s say a Love Islander and then, with her political background, she could also take on the more serious stuff. Miriam would have definitely been my first choice.”

“I also think Dara O’Briain would be brilliant. He’s got the same self-deprecating humour as Ryan, and he’s highly intelligent. He’s very funny, great craic, and very experienced. He’s got young kids as well, so he’d be great for The Toy Show. So I think Dara O’Briain would be a great choice.”

The Irish public were left heartbroken when Lucy’s radio show with Baz Ashmawy suddenly came to an end in 2012.

The show, which aired Saturdays and Sundays from 7am until 10am, was a huge hit with viewers, but it was axed to reduce the cost base at RTÉ 2FM. 

Lucy and Baz have remained close friends since, and I ask Lucy whether she would like to work with him again in the future…

I saw you were being tipped to co-host The Late Late Show with Baz. Would you like to work with him again in the future? 

“Absolutely, any excuse! And if the Late Late changed its format, would I host it with Baz? Hands down, yes. Baz is a male me. We’ve the exact same sense of humour and he loves people, he’s a softie like me.”

“The same with Dáithí Ó Sé, if he was in the running for the Late Late gig and I was asked to do it with him, yes please! He’s someone else who I have professional chemistry with.”

“Maybe that’s the thing to do, maybe RTÉ should have a male AND a female presenter on the Late Late. Why not?”

As I mentioned earlier, Lucy has been married to her husband Richard for 14 years. They met when they were just 23-years-old and nine years later, they tied the knot in the stunning Santa Maria in Italy.

The couple are the proud parents of three children – Jack, Holly and Jess.

While Lucy shares a lot of her life with the public and with her social media followers, she keeps her marriage very private, and does not share any photos of Richie online.

She explains to us now why that is, and also shares the secret to their long-lasting, happy relationship…

You and your husband Richie have been together for 23 years, and married for 14. But despite being such a public figure, you’ve kept your marriage out of the public eye. Was that a conscious decision for you?

“Not really, it just kind of happened that way. Richie is the most grounded person I know. We’ve been together since we were 23, so he’s seen me on the dole, off the dole, working, not working, crying, getting a big gig. He’s seen me in all walks of life and he just has no interest in that world. He’s successful in his own right.”

“He’ll obviously ask me who I’m living with, but he wouldn’t find celebrities impressive. He’s just a really nice, normal, grounded guy. I remember years ago, when we had just got engaged, I begged him to come to an awards show with me. And he said never again. That’s just not his cup of tea. It’s not for everyone!”

“But I actually like that about him. That’s one of the many things I find attractive about him is that he’s not interested. I would prefer that than a guy who follows me to all the events and is part of the fakeness that it is.”

“I love the fact that I can come in from a night out after doing an event and within seconds, I’ve taken off all my makeup and am sitting on my couch with sudocrem on my spots telling him about the night. He’s my real life. He is also the most patient man in Ireland!” Lucy said with a laugh.

“You have to marry your best friend…”

What would you say is the secret to a long-lasting, happy relationship? 

“I know this sounds a bit cliché, but marry your best friend. You have to marry your best friend because life is hard, marriage is hard. When your children come along, it’s so stressful. You’ve got the ups and downs, financial worries, successes, buying a house, selling a house, death in the family.”

“There are so many waves you have to ride and I think if you’re with your best friend through it all, you can’t go wrong because they’ve got your back. I think if they’re your best friend, then you have that foundation that will help during the bad days.”

“You also need someone who understands you. Like Rich completely understands that I would dump him for Jamie Dornan, and he would be happy for me,” she joked.

“He’s like, ‘Look you’re my best friend, I love you, I know you and you should be with him!’ Rich is a true friend. He will be my best man. The only thing standing in my way is his wife, she’s got to go!”

 

 

 

You have such a busy professional life and family life. How do you balance those two aspects of your life? 

“I don’t! There are times that I could be sitting in my pyjamas crying on the stairs going, ‘I’m just so tired!’ I can’t find a good balance because everything seems to happen at once. I think the only balance that I have is that I always put my family before any job.”

“My home life as a whole is very balanced and organised. It’s just when I try to combine the two, that’s when things go completely arseways and it can be very full on. So do I have a good balance? I don’t think so.”

“I’m just like everybody else. I’m a mum-of-three, I work, I have good days and I have bad days. There are times that I am actually exhausted, and that’s when I choose wine and Netflix. I’m currently obsessed with Selling Sunset! I’ve been binging that and ignoring my family, and that’s where I get my home balance – I just ignore them and watch Selling Sunset (laughs).”

“We all need some alone time. I don’t remember the last time I’ve sat on the loo in peace. It’s been 13 years since I’ve had some alone time on the toilet. So Selling Sunset and yoga is what I do for some me time. And I walk my dog Riley most evenings – that’s when I breathe it all out.”

Living With Lucy is returning to our screens later this year, which will see Lucy move in with a brand new batch of celebrities.

This season’s line-up includes former glamour model Katie Price, comedian Andrew Maxwell, sports commentator Des Cahill, Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby, and a Coronation Street legend… 

We are so excited for the return of Living with Lucy. When will that be back on our screens? 

“We are back in September! Living With Lucy was slightly delayed because of Lucy Investigates, which I really enjoyed doing as well. So with Living With Lucy, I’ve filmed half of them so far. My next person is Katie Price, who has been hard to pin down date wise because it is a weekend and we both have kids. So we’ve had to try and coordinate.”

“I was also over in Coronation Street with a celebrity who I absolutely adore. I had a walk on the cobbles, I was in The Rovers Return Inn, it was so exciting! So you’ll see all of that in September.”

“It’s a really good mix of celebs on Living With Lucy this September. I really love doing the show. The format is so simple. Living With Lucy is like a nice pair of cosy socks and a cup of tea – it’s a comfort and you know what it’s about.”

“I sometimes think that TV stations should just let a programme breathe because when there’s consistency, there’s an audience. People get to know it and love it. And thank god all these years later, Living With Lucy is still one of Virgin Media’s biggest raters.”

“People know me, I’m very transparent and I’ll always ask the questions that everyone else would like to. There’s no agenda with me so when you see the celebrity on Living with Lucy, that is what the celebrity is really like.”

Which of the celebs do you think viewers will be most surprised by, and why?

“I think Katie Price. She seems to be very hands on, very normal and very grounded which is the complete opposite of what we all know of her. Katie is in the newspapers all day, every day for doing this and that. In court, out of court, new boobs, new tattoos.

So I’m curious to see if it’s just the media chaos, or is she actually that chaotic. But what I hear is that she’s not, and that I’m really going to like her.”

“I’m very good at gauging what a person is like very quickly. I know within seconds what they’re really like, and it’s then up to me to show that on the camera. I think I’m going to like Katie, I just have this feeling.”

“She’s a working mum just like me. I know about the boobs and the crazy exes, but I just want to see her being her true self at home with a tracksuit on and no makeup. Like the rest of us: tired, stressed, worried, possibly premenstrual, and just being real.”

“I’m not interested in meeting ‘Jordan’, I’m interested in meeting the real Katie Price.”

Who has been your favourite and least favourite celebrity on the show?

“My least favourite was Danniella Westbrook because she was very difficult. She was at a very different time in her life when I lived with her and things have settled with her since. It wasn’t her fault, but she was just quite erratic and hard to settle.”

“I actually blame the English media. Most English celebrities are reluctant to open up or share because they think there’s always an agenda, but with me there isn’t. I avoid questions I know could cause discomfort, and we don’t use things that might make someone look genuinely bad, because then the series would be over.”

“I think Danniella had her back up with me, because she thought I was there under a different guise. I don’t think she really understood the programme, but I believe she understands it now. So yeah, she was my most difficult celebrity.”

“My favourite? I’d have to say Dáithí Ó Sé, who is one of my favourite people in Europe. We sealed the deal in friendship then, and that was 12 or 13 years ago. I just adore him, even though he put me off brandy for life because we were doing brandy shots out in Galway and I tried to vomit into his fridge afterwards. But I love him.”

“I also loved Brendan Grace, god rest his soul. Such a nice man. Christy Dignam I loved. Everybody knows I have a very soft spot for Twink, so much so that I lived with her twice. I love her, she cracks me up. I also really liked Jermaine Jackson, he was very sweet.”

“I like most people, I really like a lot of people too, and dislike? I didn’t actually dislike Danniella because she was good fun, she was just difficult. I’ve never met someone that I’ve been like, ‘God I hate them!’ afterwards.”

“Even moving in with Katie Hopkins, the most controversial and hated woman in the UK, I’m so glad I did that because she’s very different in real life than what people believe. Most people are. That’s why the whole foundation of Living With Lucy is, ‘If you want to really know me, come and live with me.’ So that’s what I do.”

Last year, Lucy launched a new show on Virgin Media called Lucy Investigates.

The series saw the presenter immerse herself into lifestyles of four fascinating factions of Irish society – exploring everything from Sex in the Suburbs to Life Online.

Lucy now has some exciting news for fans of the show…

Your series Lucy Investigates was a huge hit with viewers. Will that be returning for a second season? 

“Yes, that is coming back! God it really was a huge hit. It’s a different style of filming. Living With Lucy is very intense, it’s three days with a person. Sleeping, eating, laughing, everything with that one person. Then I say goodbye, come home and do the voiceover and it’s done. Whereas with Lucy Investigates, I’m with the same people for four to five months, dipping in and out of their lives. It’s a longer process. But I love it, and there’s rumblings of more seasons.”

“There’s so many things I would like to do with that. I would love to go to a female prison. There’s so many different bits and bobs I’d like to investigate in my own way. Lucy Investigates, obviously with me at the helm, isn’t hard hitting. I’m not a journalist, I’m just a nosy television presenter.

We try to keep it light, but informative. It’s very much my style. It’s very important to me that when I’m doing a show, I’m staying true to me and what people know me as. I’ll never do a show that doesn’t let me be me.”

“I’ll never do a show that doesn’t let me be me…”

In the cosmetic procedures episode of the show, you won praise for opening up about your decision to not get botox. Do you think there’s a pressure to go under the knife/get work done being in the industry?

“I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve made a living doing my job in my pyjamas! I started presenting 18 years ago, and I very quickly made it clear that I was only going to be myself. So even on Podge and Rodge, I was never this sexy co-host. I was the girl next door leaning up against the bar. Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve always been myself. Even on Ireland’s Got Talent, I was coming out in jumpsuits and stuff. It was always very me.”

“I’ve never felt pressure to be different because I’ve always got work from being so natural. I think if people take the pressure off their appearance, and if they’re happy in who they are, that comes across.”

“I also think that the average person sitting at home on a weeknight, maybe with a glass of wine, in their pyjamas with a face mask on – they don’t want to see a dolly bird on the telly. They want to see someone that they relate to. Someone who maybe looks slightly tired, they’re not perfect, they maybe have one eyebrow higher than the other because they were in a rush getting ready.”

“It’s all about being relatable. I only buy from relatable influencers. I have to believe in what they’re selling. I think if younger people forgot about how they look, they would be more confident. It’s all very superficial. What actually lies beneath those layers of makeup?”

“I’m very confident and comfy in my own skin. I’m always going to have a big arse and a big nose, and I don’t care. I love who I am and I love how my body works. And as a woman in the industry, I’ve never felt more pressure than my male co-hosts beside me to look a certain way.”

You also did an episode on the realities of the online world. As a mum of three young children, do you worry about them growing up with social media and the effects that might have on their confidence? 

“I worry about my girls. I don’t actually worry about my son Jack, he’s 13 and into Fifa and stuff. I’ve to remind him to brush his hair! Thankfully, social media doesn’t seem to affect him yet. But I worry about my girls.

“Holly is nearly 11, so she is more aware of it. She has an iPod but she’s only allowed to WhatsApp her friends. I hate the thought of Snapchat and all this instant stuff. You hear about these online comments and it seems to be mainly with girls. Girls can be very bitchy to each other. So that worries me, absolutely.”

“I think I’m a good role model for my children because I am in the public eye but I don’t bother with or engage with all of that. Like Holly will say to me, ‘Mum you can’t come to Dundrum Shopping Centre in a tracksuit!’ And I’m like why not? Just because I’m on the telly? Who cares! I am the opposite of glamorous and I instill that in my children the whole time, letting them know it’s all just make believe, it’s not real life.”

“I worry about my girls growing up with social media…”

“I’ve stood with people who put filters on their photos and they look so different in real life. Online life isn’t a true reflection of who is behind it, it’s the perception of the glamour but the reality is very very different. And I told Holly that after I did the episode on social media. I told her, ‘I have seen first hand how people can change how they look online. But the reality is that in real life, they look just like you and me.'”

“It does scare me though. I would worry about the girls, definitely. I’m just trying to manage it.”

Lucy is a natural born presenter, and viewers love her refreshing honesty and infectious, bubbly personality.

I ask her whether presenting was always something she wanted to do, or whether she discovered her passion for it later in life…

Was presenting something you always wanted to do, or how did you discover your love/passion for it?

“No, it wasn’t something I always wanted to do. I always fancied being a journalist, and had this vision of myself walking around with a notebook. Holly actually does that now, so I think she’s the mole who leaks stories about me! So anyway, when I left school I thought I’d end up as a journalist. And then when I became an airhostess, I became overly keen on the PA system. And I remember a pilot saying to me, ‘Lucy, they really don’t care about your love life or how your night was, just tell them what’s on the menu.'”

“People would tell me I’d be so good on the telly. When I went along to do a production course and they asked who would like to present, I kept my hand down because I didn’t think I would be any good. So I was behind the scenes for a long time – 8 years. I remember looking at the presenters and being like, ‘I don’t have the confidence for that’. And then it just happened.”

“I only started presenting when I was 28, so I’m always telling people to take it easy because you will find your perfect job eventually. I had so many other jobs before I got into presenting. It was only when I was 28 that I discovered what I was meant to do.”

Have you any other exciting TV shows coming out soon?

“I’m doing Ask Me Anything with Angela Scanlon in a few weeks. It’s always very different to be interviewed than interviewing. I have a tendency to answer the question and then go, ‘But what about you?’ I love getting information out of people, I’m so nosey!”

“Even my husband Rich will give out to me when we’re out for dinner for chatting so much to the waiters. I want to know about her love life, her job – I interview everyone I meet without meaning to! I’m just genuinely so curious about people, whether they’re a celebrity or not. I just love people.”

“I also have a few programme ideas of my own that I’m going to pitch to RTÉ and Virgin Media, possibly during the summer. But as it stands, Living With Lucy and Lucy Investigates is my next year.”

You have worked predominantly with Virgin Media in recent years, but it seems like you haven’t ruled out working with RTÉ again…

“Definitely, and I have always been really honest with Virgin about that. I am a freelance TV presenter. We sell Living With Lucy to Virgin, but that’s not to say that I couldn’t sell something to RTÉ. It’s quite unusual to be on both channels at the same time because the perception is you’re either one or the other. But hopefully, that will change in the future.”

“I have some brilliant ideas to pitch to RTÉ that would suit RTÉ, and then I’ve got brilliant ideas for Virgin because they are very different. So why not present for the two? I would follow the presenter. Like I don’t know which station Holly Willoughby is on, I just want to see Holly Willoughby. So hopefully people’s attitudes will change so you can do anything you want. It opens up more opportunities.”

There was reports that both RTÉ and Virgin Media were in a bidding war for an Irish version of The Masked Singer, which you’ve told us you would love to host. Have you been approached for that gig yet? 

“That would be right up my street, yes please! I know that my name has been mentioned if it was to happen. Is it happening? I don’t know. But that would be completely and utterly up my street. That would be the perfect gig for me, it would play to my strengths.

“My family and I watch it, and spend our lives shouting ‘Take it off! Take it off!’ So I would love an Irish version of the show. Imagine Dáithí or Daniel O’Donnell on it? And Pat Kenny! We could do it in The Helix. Come on, let’s do it!”

Along with TV presenting, you have your own radio show on Classic Hits FM with Colm Hayes. Do you prefer radio presenting or TV presenting? 

“I love them both equally. I’ve often thought during busy periods, should I drop one of them? But I’d miss it. I quite like that I can switch into the two. I can’t choose between the two, I really can’t. I just love them both so much, and I work with people who I love and know so well.”

“My kids laugh when I say, ‘Ugh I’m just so tired from work.’ And they’re like, ‘But you’re with Hayesy mum, you just talk.’ And it’s so true. It’s not like I have to make an effort. It feels like I’m just catching up with a friend. I’ve had sales jobs in the past that have been stressful. You have targets and you’re at your desk at 9am but not home until 8pm, and then you’re thinking about your job at the weekend. I don’t have that. I’m in a very lucky position. Everyone I work with, I love. So long may that last!”

What advice would you give to aspiring presenters trying to break into the industry?

“Strap in, it’s a crazy ride. You’re not going to make money immediately. You have to learn your craft. I always ask people, ‘Why do you want to get into television?’ And 9 times out of 10 it’s because they want to be famous. The fame is something that comes later. So you have to be good at it, or else you won’t last.”

“I worked my way up behind the scenes out of love for television, it was only later in life I moved to in front of the camera. So I think you have to genuinely love every aspect of the job, because it’s the passion that will keep you going through those weeks on the Dole, and through those weeks where you’re told you’re not the right person for the job. You have to have true passion for it, and don’t expect fame. Fame comes at the end. And fame doesn’t really matter, actually. It’s the love of the job.”

“I don’t think i can do ‘normal’…”

What else are you working on this year?

“I’ve just delivered my fifth children’s book, so now it goes to the illustrator and they’ll do all the drawings, and then it will hit our shelves at the end of summer. I’m churning out a book a year which is brilliant! I can’t believe I have five under my belt so far.”

“And I’m planning on writing a sixth one, and also picture books to go to the younger siblings of my readers.”

“So I’m a busy, busy bee at the moment. This is why I sometimes rock up to meetings with no bra on and look so confused. My life is just always very, very busy but I genuinely wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t think I can do ‘normal’.”

I’ve spoken with Lucy for almost an hour, and I could keep chatting to her for many more.

Since meeting her for the first time in 2020, Lucy has always been so kind and lovely to me, and catching up with her is always such a pleasure. She’s ‘one of the good ones’. But I am aware of how busy she is, and decide it’s time to wrap up our interview with one final question. 

I ask Lucy what’s left on her bucket list and while has a few things left she’d like to tick off, she tells me that she is very content in her life right now, and very proud of everything she’s achieved in her career to date. 

Have you anything else you’d like to tick off your bucket list, personally and professionally? 

“So far, I’ve pretty much ticked off everything. The only thing left on my bucket list, which probably sounds silly because so many people have been, but I’d love to go to Venice. And then career wise, I’ve ticked a lot off my bucket list already. 10 years ago I probably would’ve said host Ireland’s Got Talent, and now I’ve done that. I’ve also written my children’s books.”

“I’m at a very content time in my life. I’ve worked really hard for about 10 years, and in that time I’ve managed to tick a lot off my bucket list. Next time you speak to me, I could have 10 more things on my list, but right now I’d just love to go to Venice.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to be hosting this time next year. I just take things year by year. So the next big gig could be just around the corner, and that’s very exciting. Life is unpredictable.”