Tubridy Tonight had regular viewing figures of 450,000, however, the show also regularly fell victim to so-called "Saturday Night Syndrome", with "The Late Late Show", broadcast on Friday nights, frequently featuring supposedly better guests. In 2009 "Tubridy Tonight" came to an end when RTÉ announced that Tubridy would succeed Pat Kenny as host of "The Late Late Show" for the following series, with the presenter describing "Tubridy Tonight" as "quite the odyssey". Upon Gay Byrne's retirement from "The Late Late Show" in 1999, RTÉ announced that Pat Kenny, host of his own Saturday night chat show, would be Byrne's replacement. "Kenny Live"
Ryan Tubridy his interest in the welfare of children, Tubridy has assisted in the promotion of other, more adult, initiatives, including the launch of a breast cancer initiative in May 2009. On 2 November 2011, he was MC and guest of honour for the launch of the Irish Film Archive Preservation Fund at the Irish Film Institute. The following month he helped switch on the Christmas lights on Grafton Street. In February 2015, he officially launched Galway's new Hand in Hand support centre which provides support and counselling services for parents of children with cancer. Among his favourite films are "The Queen"