Lucy brushes off the criticism of 2fm slot

Melanie Finn

RTE's Lucy Kennedy is ignoring criticism of her presenting skills on 2fm.

It has been claimed that the former Podge And Rodge star (right) got off to a "shaky start" after stepping into the slot formerly occupied by the late Gerry Ryan, alongside Colm Hayes.

Listeners have also posted some less than flattering comments on media feedback sites, claiming that the temporary programme doesn't work.

There were also reports that RTE could now face a massive loss in advertising revenue should radio chiefs fail to find an established personality for the 9am to midday slot.

The Gerry Ryan Show was worth more than €4m to the station, thanks to its massive listenership.

Yet a source close to new mum Lucy (34) has said she's letting all the comments go over her head as she has always been aware it was only going to be a temporary job.

"The reason why she took the gig in the first place is because it's only for four weeks. It's very much a stop-gap for her, that's the way she sees it," said a close source.

"Whoever does take it on is taking on a mammoth job, given Gerry's popularity and no-one will be able to fill that three-hour slot doing what Gerry did. But Lucy sees it as a good bit of experience for her as it's only a month-long and she knows she doesn't have the radio experience for the show.

"Any bad commentary out there, she is aware of it, but she isn't paying any attention to it and she's trying to give RTE the breathing space to make the right choice."

Ryan's continued popularity was confirmed in the most recent JNLR figures, which revealed he had a massive 296,000 listeners every day and was the most listened to programme among the 20-44 market.

Speculation has surrounded who will take over the empty slot in the wake of the broadcaster's death of a suspected heart attack at his Leeson Street home on April 30.

Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy is the front-runner to move over from his Radio 1 hourly slot to take over the 2fm programme.

Yet when asked about the possibility of taking it over, he told the Herald it was "too early" to speculate about it.

mfinn@herald.ie