Ryan Tubridy has told of his pride at hosting the Late Late Show saying his first night was “one of the greatest thrills of my life”.
The chat king was talking as he gets ready to celebrate the show’s 60th birthday in a special show tonight featuring Oscar-nominee Jessie Buckley and singer Dermot Kennedy.
The Late Late Show made its debut on Irish screens on July 6, 1962, with Gay Byrne at the helm.
And as he prepares to wrap up his own 13th season tonight, Tubs looked back on some of his most memorable moments throughout the years.
He said: “Well, I think the first time I ever presented The Late Late Show was one of the greatest thrills of my whole life.
“Because you heard the music, saw the crowd, you felt the legacy and it was, for somebody like me, it was like five million Christmas mornings, all in one go. It was the dream.
“So, I’ll never forget that. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.
“Then, as the years roll by, it’s been a cavalcade of excitement and curiosity and challenge. It has been the most fun.”
In an interview to mark the anniversary, he told how his dream interviewee would be Beatles’ legend Paul McCartney.
Since he took over in 2009 one of his favourite guests so far was crooner Michael Buble who charmed audiences when he made a surprise appearance.
Struggling to choose a stand-out moment, he said: “It’s borderline impossible to pick out those, those moments to go, holy smoke. What, what, what just happened there.
“But if we go in the last season... We did something really important, I think, in highlighting the Ukraine story. If you go back a season or two, I find [mother and baby home campaigner] Catherine Corless to be an incredible guest, an incredible person.
“People like Joanne O’Riordan, I find very impressive. Kellie Harrington, I’m completely mad about. Vicky Phelan is somebody who is without parallel in this country and she’s remarkable. The Climb with Charlie Bird. It just took it out of just being a TV show.
“And, in fact, in many ways, the two years of Covid stopped it from just being a regular chat show and became a point of gathering for people like a town hall going to what’s happening in the world.
“It was a very peculiar time, but it was a challenging time for all the right reasons.
“So, yeah, it’s never boring. That’s the key to this job. And if it gets boring, I am out. But so far, no. It’s so far so good.”
Listing singing sensation Buble, comedian Peter Kay, and Hollywood stars Michael Fassbender and John C Reilly as some of his favourite guests to interview so far, he added: “It’s very hard to pick, you know, a favourite guest, but there are people who come through the door and you say, ‘oh, this should be fun’.”
But the presenter, who also hosts his morning show, The Ryan Tubridy Show, on RTE Radio One daily admits he is yet to sit down with his dream guest.
“For many years now, I’ve been asked this question as to who would I like to interview and I’ve answered it so often and with the same name that I think his people have taken an injunction out against me and a protective protection order in case I actually land in a door in London and say, ‘Please, would you come out and play?’
“That is Paul McCartney and look, the fact is I’m a Beatles nut. I’m a McCartney guy.
“I’ve seen him nine times in concert. Like I was, I’ve been very loyal to Paul, and I think Paul should start giving something back – not just to me personally but to the people of Ireland.They need to see him on the show.”
But he fears he may have scuppered his chances after a run in with the music legend as a superfan in the past.
He revealed: “I was a disgrace, I fan-boyed.
“I ended up tapping him on the shoulder like, like manically and he was kind of, I think he was looking around for security. I had a chicken sandwich before, so that was nice I had bits of chicken in my teeth. He didn’t want pictures taken.
“I got a picture taken, and essentially the picture is him going, ‘don’t take the picture’, ‘please don’t’ and, and I’m grinning with my chicken teeth and he’s kind of looking around for security.
“So is it any wonder I can’t get the man on the show?
“So I don’t blame him. Someday, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but ‘Yesterday’.
“It’s never going to happen. Also, I don’t want the interview to be by Zoom or by phone. It’s got to be face-to-face. We have to talk this out, Paul.”
Ryan is confident there are still plenty of years to come for the world’s longest-running live chat show.
He said: “The Late Late Show will probably evolve and move and morph into something, but I think it’ll still be there.”
As for his own future at the helm of it, he said he plans to be part of it for as long as bosses want.
Tubs added: “I’ll be here for a few more years if they’ll have me.
“But as for the show itself, yeah, I think there’ll always be room for conversation and there’ll always be room for the variety of conversation.
“But I suppose to look ahead, you’re going to look back to the last couple of years. The show changed on a coin, once when we had no audience and we had to decide what sort of a show are we.
“We became a show of, I hope, of presence for people. We were kind of like a beacon in the fog, if you like, because now no one knew what time was, what day it was and where we were. Then you would see the owl on a Friday night. We’re the longest-running live chat show in the world. So, I think it will survive.
“It may not be on analogue TV as we know it but it’ll be there in 60 years. I don’t know. I don’t know if the planet will be here in 60 years, the way things are going. So, let’s just go one chat show at a time.”
Movie star Buckley and singer Kennedy are among a star studded line-up set to take to the sofa this evening for the live anniversary special.
Tubs said: “It’s going to be a big party atmosphere and we have two just tremendous people who kind of reflect this generation more, more than mine.
“Theirs, in a sense, really, because Jessie Buckley is now an Oscar-nominated Kerry superstar, wonderful, wonderful actor. I love what she does.
“And equally, Dermot Kennedy, the most lovely man in showbusiness, remember the Toy Show we did with [young singer] Michael Moloney. It was just a moment of beauty. He’s a great guy, a lovely fella. Dermot is on tonight’s show, with loads of others, by the way.
“But yeah, so it’s kind of nice. It’s nice to see that fresh sense of Ireland being reflected on the 60th Late, Late Show. We’re happy about that.
“We will remember previous presenters, obviously, and we will look at two other famous Irish guests who will come and hopefully join us.
“There will be messages coming in from all sorts of people. I’m a bit of a fanboy of Conan O’Brien, who is one of my favourite hosts. So, it’ll be quite a lovely Friday night.”
The show will mark the end of the season for the busy host who is ready to let loose on his summer holidays.
“I’m looking forward to taking a breather,” he said.
“I think it’s really good to get away from people in terms of listeners and viewers, just to give them a break from you because it’s healthy.
“So, I will drift off and I will go to the West of Ireland, and I might travel further afield as well because I’ve always wanted to visit Iceland.
“So, I’m going to go to Iceland for sure and maybe one or two other places.
“Look it’s post-pandemic, I’m ready to rock and roll,” he added.
“I want to embrace the Roaring Twenties. I want to have lots of fun and go to lots of places and, you know, I think the whole country probably feels the same. That was two long years in the shadows, so it’s time for bright days and they’re here. So, let’s enjoy.”
The Late Late Show season finale airs tonight on RTÉ One at 9:35 pm.
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