Former RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy was interviewed on Times Radio on Thursday night and spoke about his move to the UK, where he now hosts a mid-morning show on Virgin Radio.
Speaking on The Evening Edition with Kait Borsay, he recalled his departure from Montrose as well as moving across the Irish Sea to start a new career in the UK.
He also spoke about his family history, the resumption of the Stormount executive in Northern Ireland and the upcoming US presidential election.
But interviewer Borsay was particularly curious about him heading to London. “You up sticks, leave it all behind and come to a city – and actually starting afresh is quite a thing when you’re a 50-year-old guy, right?”
“It’s a shock to the system,” Tubridy admitted. “And it took a bit of guts, he says, lacking any humility. But it did, I suppose, in some ways.
“But I was ready for a big change. And London was the only game in town, in some ways. And even getting this job in Virgin – it wasn’t meant to be. And I’m not being all mystic and cosmic. It is strange how it all works out.”
He then recounted his visit to Chris Evans, which then led to his Virgin gig.
Borsay also asked him about leaving The Late Late Show “(I’d had enough of that,” he said) and the end of his time with the national broadcaster.
“And then events, dear boy, events took over,” he recalled, “which we’re not going to get into – it’s for another day. But it meant that, by the time I go to the autumn, I was ready for a change and for a different direction.”
