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 Tubridy Show music. In each programme there were three sections. The first would last around 20 minutes with a debate or high-profile guest. For the second and third there would typically be a panel and a music guest. Tubridy and his team concocted what they described as "an eclectic mix of items on a daily basis". Every month the Tubridy Show Book Club was run. It encouraged listeners to send their review on a featured book. The best review would be published in the "RTÉ Guide". The book club was influential in the Irish book market, with novels such as John Boyne's