The Gerry Ryan Show begged him "on bended knees" and "over whiskey" to stay with 2fm but at the same time Ryan was impressed that Tubridy was willing to compete with him directly. Tubridy has credited Ryan with being "one of the few gentlemen in [RTÉ]", saying he had been "very kind to me when I started out in RTÉ making tea and coffee and right all the way up to the very day I got "The Late Late Show" job". In 2004, Ryan was the subject of controversy when he cancelled an interview with the Taoiseach of the time, Bertie Ahern. Ahern had
The Late Late Show (Irish talk show) Show" has had three regular hosts: Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny and Ryan Tubridy. Frank Hall deputised for Byrne for one season in the 1960s. There have been at least four occasions on which another presenter has hosted the show. The first was when Byrne became unexpectedly and seriously ill. Frequent panelist Ted Bonner presented instead. The second time was towards the end of a show about feminism, when Byrne ushered a young Marian Finucane into his seat to present the remainder of the show. On another occasion, radio broadcaster and former news reader Andy O'Mahony replaced Byrne for an interview