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
Tubridy Tonight May 2004, RTÉ announced that Ryan Tubridy would host a new Saturday night chat show that coming autumn. "Tubridy Tonight" made its debut on 16 October 2004 for an initial run of ten programmes. It featured Gráinne and Síle Seoige, Hector Ó hEochagáin and Royston Brady as the first interviewees. The programme received relatively good reviews, with Shane Hegarty of the "Irish Times" describing the show as having gotten off "to a ropey start but improved as it went along." Hegarty bemoaned the fact that the show was broadcast live as "it added nothing to the show apart from a