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brendan bites
RTÉ have deleted Brendan O'Connor's 'wanky' jibe at Tubridy
This morning’s encounter between the pair was a little awkward. Thanks to an edit, the playback is now a little less awkward.
Updated at 5pm
YOU MAY HAVE heard… Ryan Tubridy is moving back to Radio 1 to take over the 9am slot recently vacated by John Murray
The news was announced yesterday – and so as you might expect, the Late Late presenter dropped in on fill-in host Brendan O’Connor this morning to give his thoughts on the move, and to talk up an upcoming charity trip to Africa.
It was a pleasant enough encounter on the whole – but there were a few odd moments…
And as online listeners playing the interview back this afternoon noticed – one of O’Connor’s jibes at Tubridy had been edited out of the show (making it, we suppose, a little less ‘odd’).
From the get-go, O’Connor (broadcasting in the slot for the last time today, before Dave Fanning takes over for a bit) seemed set on making sure the encounter didn’t sound like one of those much-maligned “RTÉ canteen bookings”.
There were tongue-in-cheek suggestions Tubridy might be working too much, what with his busy Friday radio and TV schedule.
He also shut-down the Montrose stalwart on one occasion, as Tubs went through the formalities of thanking his 2fm production team (this is the section that was edited).
- Tubridy: I want to try and get the best around me. Because that’s what I’ve had in 2fm and I’d love to have something similar.
- O’Connor: Absolutely
- Tubridy: I often hear you say, and rightly so, that we’re not worth a damn without a good team…
- O’Connor: Talking dogs is all we are
- Tubridy: Well there’s truth in that… And so, well, I’d love to pay tribute to my 2fm team if I may for just a second and say thanks to them…
- O’Connor: I think that sounds a bit wanky to a lot of people at home but you’ve … consider it done. They’re a great team and you’ve done it but if we start going into how great everyone – I’ll be doing a bit of it at the end here aswell, and, you know… Like, absolutely, point taken. And … you’re not bringing them with you?
- Tubridy: No.
- O’Connor: Okay…
Contacted for comment this afternoon, an RTÉ spokesperson said the edit to the playback version of the programme had been made due to “strong language” as it could be accessed at any time of the day.
(An awkward section of the chat – around 20 seconds, from “there’s truth in that” – was missing in the online show).
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Talking generally about the new show, Tubridy said the move from RTÉ’s ‘youth’ radio station made sense “in head and in heart” noting that 2fm was “no station for old men”.
Paying tribute to the “gorgeous job” Murray did in the slot, he said the first text he’d received yesterday afternoon was from the broadcaster.
He was assembling a new team for the show at the moment, he said – and once that’s done “we’ll come up with a mission statement”.
With the programme airing between Morning Ireland and Sean O’Rourke “we’re not talking about the banks, we’re not talking about Greece. We’re not talking about things that are on either side of us”.
In keeping with recent tradition for the slot, it will instead offer a “breather” from the heavier news and current affairs content either side of it, he said.
Wishing his guest well on his African trip, O’Connor – whose Saturday night TV show was axed by RTÉ in May – asked Tubs if he’d drop by the studio “and have a chat with us when you come back”.
“Or with Dave,” Tubridy pointed out.
“Or with Dave. Or with yourself.”
Alone again…
In case you’re wondering, yes – O’Connor, true to his word, spent some time thanking his own production team as he ended the show.
Before finishing with this…
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