Tommy Tiernan reacts to his chat with Roy Keane after leaving viewers divided

Tommy Tiernan has reacted to interviewing football legend Roy Keane on his chat show – admitting he was friendlier off screen.

The Navan man returned to our screens on RTE One last Saturday night for a seventh season.

Keane was the first guest to appear on his show, but just minutes into the interview, Tiernan became frustrated with how guarded the former Manchester United star was with his answers to him, saying: “Are you f*****g kidding me?”

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But the comedian has now revealed that Keane was completely different off screen after their interview.

Speaking to co-hosts Hector Ó hEochagáin and Laurita Blewitt on the Tommy & Hector Podcast with Laurita Blewitt this week, Tiernan said: "We chatted for a good ten minutes after the interview, and it was different.

"He was very friendly.

“He's a lovely man. He's also funny. The interview had its own particular dynamic, but it was still very interesting to talk to him, it was still fun.”

Asked how the energy changed post-interview, Tiernan said it was like the Cork man "unclenched".

"He's a lovely man," he said. "He's also funny."

"The interview had its own particular dynamic, but it was still very interesting to talk to him, it was still fun," he said, brushing away suggestions that the interview had been laborious for him.

Tiernan also gave his view on having a live audience in the studio, saying: “When the audience is there... when it gets serious, the energy of the audience, it's like a pile-on, they add extra intensity.

"I think there's an argument to be made for no audience," Tiernan admitted.

Tiernan found himself in hot water earlier this week after he left RTE star Emer O’Neill upset when he told a controversial joke at his Vicar Street gig last Friday.

But he made no reference to the furore on the podcast.

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