RTÉ has confirmed there are currently “no plans” for Ryan Tubridy to return to his presenting role on RTÉ Radio One.
On March 16, the 50-year-old announced his shock decision to leave the broadcaster’s flagship programme, The Late Late Show, after 14 years at the helm.
Just weeks after he hosted his final episode of the late night talk show on May 26, RTÉ was plunged into chaos when it was revealed that their Ryan’s earnings were publicly understated by €345,000 over the last six years.
Questions have been raised as to whether the impending controversy influenced his decision to step away from The Late Late Show.
However, Ryan has adamantly maintained that the two events were entirely uncorrelated, and that he made his decision to step down as host as early as last summer – which his fellow RTÉ star Maia Dunphy later backed up.
Earlier this summer, Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly appeared before two Oireachtas Committees – the Public Accounts Committee and the Media Committee, to share their version of events.
When asked whether he’s still in contract with RTÉ during the hearing, the 50-year-old admitted it was his “understanding [that] I’m still in contract. My aim and hope is to go back to work.”
But elsewhere during the hearing, Ryan made a shocking statement, admitting he “could be out of a job by Friday”.
Negotiations over his radio contract had been put on hold amid the ongoing scandal, but RTÉ’s new Director General Kevin Bakhurst recently confirmed that they had resumed.
The 50-year-old has hosted an hour-long weekday slot titled The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 since September 2015; however, he has been off air since news of the payments scandal broke.
While Ryan’s return to RTÉ seemed promising, Mr Bakhurst ceased negotiations with the presenter this week after he released a statement addressing the second Grant Thornton report.
Earlier this week, Grant Thornton’s second report on the ongoing RTÉ payments scandal revealed Ryan and his agent Noel Kelly had no involvement in the public understatement of the presenter’s salary between the years 2017 and 2019.
It also confirmed that the popular presenter waived a €120,000 exit fee, which he was entitled to at the end of his contract.
In a statement at the time, Ryan revealed his hopes to return to RTÉ, writing: “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 RTÉ has not yet published its top ten earner details for 2022.”
“I repeat my offer to publish the details of any future RTÉ 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,” Ryan continued.
“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.”
Now that we know Ryan won’t be returning to RTÉ Radio One, here are the stars that could replace him on the airwaves:
Oliver Callan
Oliver Callan is a shoo-in to replace Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ Radio One.
The Monaghan native has regularly filled in for the presenter while he’s been on holidays over the past few years.
He also stepped in to host The Ryan Tubridy Show, weekdays from 9-10am, after Ryan was pulled off air amid the payments scandal.
Oliver also works on an RTÉ Radio 1 show called Callan’s Kicks, and regularly works on RTÉ One television.
Anton Savage
You’ll probably know Anton Savage from his weekend programme on Newstalk – which he’s been hosting since 2021.
The Dublin native has been hotly tipped to replace Ryan since the payments scandal broke, and he’s already had an impressive broadcasting career.
Anton was previously a regular presenter on Today FM; hosting the Sunday Business Show in 2011 before hosting his own show called Savage Sunday.
In 2015, he took over Ray D’Arcy’s 9am-12pm slot with The Anton Savage Show.
Sarah McInerney
Sarah McInerney could also be in the running to take over the 9-10am radio slot.
The broadcaster co-hosts Drivetime on RTÉ Radio 1, a fast-moving current affairs programme which covers all the political and topical issues of the day.
She also hosts RTÉ’s Prime Time alongside Fran McNulty and Miriam O’Callaghan.
In 2020, Sarah was pitted against Claire Byrne to take over as host of RTÉ Radio 1’s Today programme from Sean O’Rourke – which she had been covering for months prior.
When news broke that Claire was set to replace Sean, many listeners shared their sadness at Sarah losing out at the role.
Kathryn Thomas
We could also hear Kathryn Thomas on RTÉ airwaves, following the departure of Ryan Tubridy.
Similarly to Oliver Callan, the mum-of-two has previously filled in for presenters on RTÉ Radio 1, and has gone down a hit with listeners.
Kathryn launched her career with the broadcaster when she presented the travel series No Frontiers in the early 2000s.
She began co-hosting Winning Streak back in 2008, but left in 2011; that same year she landed the presenting job on RTÉ’s Operation Transformation.
Throughout her career, Kathryn also hosted five series of The Voice Ireland on RTÉ One, meaning she’s well-experienced when it comes to live broadcasting.
Brendan O’Connor
Brendan O’Connor has also had a lengthy career with RTÉ, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he took over Ryan’s slot on Radio 1.
The 53-year-old hosts a weekend radio show on RTÉ Radio 1 from 11am until 1pm, but could look to shift to a weekday shift.
He previously presented The Saturday Night Show on RTÉ from 2010 until 2015, and later hosted the broadcaster’s current affairs panel show Cutting Edge.
