Ryan Tubridy's return to broadcasting has been confirmed, with the Irishman to join UK radio station Virgin after an extended absence.
Tubridy departed his role as RTÉ's Late Late Show host earlier this year, after 14 years at the helm of the iconic chat show.
His departure was to be shrouded in controversy, however, when details of surplus payments to the broadcaster kickstarted a financial scandal within RTÉ that saw Tubridy also step away from his daily radio show - initially on a temporary basis, before that move was made permanent in August.
It is almost half a year since the payment scandal first broke, but Tubridy is now confirmed to be returning to Irish airwaves, with multiple Irish radio stations carrying his new programming in the UK.
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Ryan Tubridy to return after acrimonious RTÉ departure
Ryan Tubridy will host Virgin Radio's morning show each weekday from 10am to 1pm, with the programme simulcast on Dublin's Q102 station.
Q102, fellow Dublin station FM104, Cork's 96FM, and Limerick's Live95FM and LMFM (all of which are owned by the same parent company as Virgin Radio) will all also carry an Irish-dedicated broadcast hosted by Tubridy from London each Saturday.
Tubridy will relocate to London full-time for his new role, with his first broadcast on January 4th next year.
The announcement of Tubridy's arrival at Virgin Radio was accompanied by a statement from his management NK, who said:
We are incredibly proud of Ryan. His talents, strength, professionalism and resilience are to be applauded. Take a bow Mr Tubridy, you are wonderful and inspirational.
Tubridy also appeared alongside Chris Evans on Virgin Radio this morning to discuss the new move.
🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT!
Ryan Tubridy is joining Virgin Radio!
He’ll be hosting Monday-Friday from 10am-1pm and starts with us in January 📻
Welcome to the station ❤️#RyanTubridy @Q102FeelGood #ChrisEvansBreakfastShow pic.twitter.com/tJ6ofAaRFT— Virgin Radio UK (@VirginRadioUK) November 16, 2023
Evans' energy appeared to bamboozle Tubridy somewhat to begin with, before the Irishman recounted a conversation with the late Sinead O'Connor which he says helped him to find work during his absence from the airwaves:
You can have a bumpy time, or whatever. About two weeks before she died, Sinead O'Connor got in touch with me, I was quite friendly with Sinead.
She said, 'you know in life you can kind of think that things have gone weird? You just get mugged by God in a hoodie.'
I said, 'you'll have to explain that to me.'
She said, 'you're beaten up, and you think it's awful, and then this guy steals your wallet and punches you in the face, and then the guy walks away, takes the hood down, and its a really nice person, or your God, and he says you're welcome, because you needed that to happen.'
So, being mugged by God in a hoodie is not a bad thing, and I think that that mugging has brought me here today.
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