It took me a year to get over Gerry -- Tubridy

Cormac Murphy

RYAN Tubridy only began to get over Gerry Ryan's death a year after losing his close friend, he has revealed.

Tubridy (below) experienced a "tremendous moment" while at an informal gathering in Gerry's family home with the late star's wife and children, following a Mass for the first anniversary of the tragedy.

"That was a tremendous moment for me because for the first time I felt that everything was really going to be okay," he said. "I still get a shiver down my spine when I see a picture of him and I feel unhappy for a moment ... But the pain is much less than it was a year ago. Now I can remember our happy times."

The Late Late Show host is filling in for Graham Norton on Saturday mornings on BBC Radio 2 over the summer.

"It is one of the best experiences I've had in my broadcasting career," he told the RTE Guide.

In September, he returns to the seat in 2fm left vacant by Gerry's untimely death in April last year. He said he was determined to give the show "a kick in the pants" to try to stem the loss of listeners.

comurphy@herald.ie