RYAN TUBRIDY SAYS he felt supported by the Irish public after his exit from RTÉ, despite the controversy that surrounded his departure from the broadcaster.

The former Late Late Show host makes the comments on The Assembly Ireland, airing on Virgin Media One on Monday night, in one of his most candid interviews since the RTÉ payments scandal broke in 2023.

The episode brings the first season of The Assembly Ireland to a close, a format that hands control of the interview to autistic and neurodivergent reporters, with no subject ruled out.

Tubridy was quizzed by Assembly reporter Adam on how he dealt with his mental health during the RTÉ controversy.

His response? “With difficulty.”

“I adjusted what was important in my life. The other day I was trying to explain it to somebody, and I said ‘I was chasing the wrong goals’,” Tubridy added.

Asked by Assembly reporter Rebecca whether he felt “supported or let down by the nation as a whole” when his career at the national broadcaster came to an end, Tubridy said the response from the public was deeply moving.

“I have about 2,000 letters in boxes at home – cards and notes that just kept coming,” Tubridy said.

“They were addressed to ‘Ryan Tubridy, Dublin’, ‘Ryan Tubridy, Dún Laoghaire’, and An Post just delivered them all, one after another.

He added: “I gave them to some friends of mine to have a look through, and they cried.”

“They couldn’t believe how lovely people were and people had sent in the cards.

“‘Here’s a fiver for get yourself a coffee’, ‘here’s here’s a packet of jellies, I know you love sweets’.”

Tubridy added that his dream is “to write back to each and every one of them”to thank them.

“So, I felt let down once or twice by people who probably could have been better at what they did, but the people and everywhere I went were lovely. Honest to goodness, lovely.”

Tubridy stepped away from RTÉ after it emerged the broadcaster had overpaid him by more than €345,000 and had incorrectly reported his earnings to the public for several years, plunging the organisation into crisis.

Speaking earlier this week on Ireland AM, Tubridy said he would “always accept responsibility” for his own actions but could not take responsibility “for the whole storm”.

“In retrospect, I should have said more, and that’s fair,” he said, describing the controversy as a systemic failure within RTÉ.

“There was a wall of problems, and I was a brick in that wall.”

On the upcoming episode of The Assembly, Tubridy was also quizzed on his former RTÉ salary, his thoughts on Donald Trump, rising student fees, his family’s Fianna Fáil links and his favourite Late Late Toy Show theme.

The Assembly airs Monday at 9pm on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Play.