UTV Ireland have claimed sneaky TV stars used phoney job offers from the station to get pay rises.
Boss Michael Wilson said a number of presenter who claimed the upstart channel approached them were never contacted.
Instead, he believes they used UTV Ireland’s presence to their advantage when renegotiating contracts.
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He said: “There were some people who claimed to have turned us down that were never approached in the first place.
“A lot of individuals would have been in the process of renegotiating contracts at the time and used our presence to their advantage.”
However Wilson said he is still looking to poach hosts, saying he hasn’t ruled out “having a quiet chat with someone over a cup of tea” in the future.
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He also told the Star that UTV Ireland haven’t ruled out their own soap – going up against Fair City and newcomer Red Rock.
He added: “If we feel there’s place in the market for another soap in the future it may be something we would look at.”
