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'It'll be on my grave that I presented the Late Late. Once'

Gerry Ryan is philosophical about being passed over for Irish television's top job, writes Niamh Horan

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Sunday Jul 5 2009

NOBODY likes returning from holidays -- back to the job and to the monotony of everyday life . . . but if you've just been passed over for promotion in favour of your younger colleague, stepping off the plane has got to be all the more difficult.

And Gerry Ryan was no exception.

Freshly tanned, in an open-neck shirt and looking far trimmer than his former self, the animated radio presenter was in a reflective mood about his recent career glitch.

Having spent two weeks in South Africa with his partner Melanie Verwoerd, he had plenty of time to process the Late Late Show drama. And yet, the veteran presenter says he still doesn't know why he wasn't picked for the biggest job in Irish television.

After seeing what would have been the highlight to a splendid career snatched from his grasp, Ryan says he still fails to understand why RTE bosses felt he wasn't right for the job.

"I don't know. I wouldn't be able to answer that," he says with a shrug when asked why RTE bosses passed him over for what is regarded as TV's top job.

Still, you wouldn't blame him for questioning it. His CV reads like a step-by-step guide to becoming the top name in Irish broadcasting. Starting in pirate radio, he swiftlt climbed the ranks in RTE, co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Ireland's glory days before fronting such TV series as Gerry Ryan Tonight, Ryantown and Operation Transformation.

And as if to hammer home that he was right for the job, he presented The Late Late Show to critical acclaim when the death of Pat Kenny's mother gave Ryan a rare chance to sit in the hot-seat for a night.

The following day critics boomed that he did "an extremely good job" and predicted that viewers may have had "a small glimpse of Ryan's future direction".

So what happened?

"It's a conflicting thing," he muses when I ask if he is upset at being passed over for the job. "You're sort of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

"To do it is hugely challenging because the media will be writing about it and they're not always going to be saying that you're great. You also have to live with the pressure of keeping audience figures up because it's a hugely important programme. And now I don't have to worry about that. So in a way, it's kind of a relief," he says.

Though he is determined to look on the bright side, you can't help but feel a sense of 'what if' in the air. Not Gerry though. As he says, at least he'll never have to wonder if he would have made a good host:

"You don't get it and you always wonder would you been any good? At least I'm able to say yes, I did do it, and I was pretty good. I can always say it'll be on my grave that I presented the Late Late," he says before a long pause. "Once," he adds, cracking into laughter.

Now it's up to his close friend Ryan Tubridy to take the reins. Gerry takes great pride in the fact that he nurtured a young Tubridy early days in his career.

"Don't forget -- and I know Ryan hates hearing this -- but Ryan started as a baby on the Gerry Ryan Show and I can't tell you how proud we are to have been the nursery that eventually produced the Late Late host. Genuinely. Because he is a very good friend of mine," he says.

"And now that all the fuss has gone, and boy was there a lot, it's time for the new boy to get on his Late Late shoes and get dancing. And it's very important for us, who will be his colleagues and friends, to make sure that everyone realises that we support him completely," he says before quipping, "But for a small fee I'll be available for cameo appearances."

So would he step into the Late Late shoes again if RTE needed a last-minute replacement? A somewhat more serious Gerry replies, "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

You have to wonder if his outspoken stance about RTE's biggest stars' pay cuts affected his chances. After all, fronting the Late Late Show basically bestows you with the title of 'face of RTE' and bosses would have wanted someone they could depend on to fly the flag, while agreeing to RTE's new era of cost-cutting and value for money.

So does he think his one-man crusade against pay cuts had an impact on his chances of getting the job?

"No, not at all," he says without hesitation. "RTE picked the person they thought was right to do the programme."

So will he take another pay cut if Montrose bosses come knocking once more?

This time he glances at his agent, celebrity king-maker Noel Kelly, before replying: "I've nothing to say about that."

And with that, a notably more diplomatic Gerry Ryan is gone.