Ryan Tubridy breaks silence on why he really quit RTE Late Late Show
The ex-RTE star announced in March 2023, that he would be stepping down as the presenter of The Late Late Show after 14 years in May.
But just months later, the father-of-two was dropped from working with RTE amid a high-profile scandal over undisclosed payments.
In June 2023, investigations revealed RTÉ had paid him €345,000 more than publicly declared between 2017 and 2022, using a "barter account" and side arrangements.
But speaking to PJ Coogan on the Opinion Line on Cork's Red FM, Ryan said he doesn't miss hosting the Late Late Show saying he 'had his fill' – but loved his time in RTE.
He said: 'Do I miss it? Is your question. No, I don't. I tell you..I don't miss presenting the shows that I did, the presenting the Late Late Show. I loved it, loved presenting it. Loved the people I worked with. I actually loved my time in RTE.
'I had a great time there, but I left the Late Late Show because I'd had my fill, and it was joyful.' Ryan Tubridy with PJ Coogan on Cork's Red FM
Ryan – who recently got engaged to Dr Clare Kambamettu - said he was afraid that if he continued as host of the coveted Friday night chat show he would eventually not feel any more joy for the high profiled job.
'And my feeling was, if I kept going, the joy would stop, and that would be a mistake. I was at my peak. I had such a lovely time.'
But the 52-year-old said he got a 'beautiful send-off', and declined to reference in the final few months at the national broadcaster.
'I got a beautiful send off. Even somebody arranged for Paul McCartney to send a video message to that last show. And so it was, it was a thing of great joy. So no, it was great. It was just a curve.
'Move on to the next thing and, and it's just a different class of joy,' referencing his move to Virgin Radio and Q102.
But he said he still gets called the 'Toy Man' from his time presenting the Late Late Toy Show.
'I mean, you know, when I moved to London, I was going where, like, I didn't know London at all. But I never lived abroad until I was 50. So talk about late starter.
'It's great fun. Oh, I love London's buzz,' he added.
Ryan is in Cork this weekend ahead of the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry where he will be interviewed by fellow chat show king Graham Norton.
'He's such a prolific writer now that he goes to all the writing festivals. So I sent me a lovely message last night saying, we'll have a great chat, and then we'll have a glass of ale afterwards to discuss it all. So it's always great. It's great to be back in Cork,' he added.
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