Ryan Tubridy had to tell himself to 'cop on' just before Oireachtas hearing

FOUR YEARS and eight seasons later, Ryan Tubridy has returned as a guest on Doireann Garrihy’s podcast, The Laughs of your Life.

Making his last appearance on the podcast in 2019, the new Virgin Radio UK presenter told the RTÉ 2fm radio presenter about the “ups and downs” in his life since then - including that of the Oireachtas hearing on being overpaid by RTÉ.

The former Late Late show presenter, who now lives in London, said: “People seem to be quite invested in my story - for better or for worse, but mostly for better.

“To me, the world has become 3% crazies on the right, 3% crazies on the left and 94% gorgeous human beings.”

A standout moment on the newly-engaged Doireann’s podcast season nine finale is when Ryan mentions how his taxi ride to the Oireachtas hearing which happened this summer. 

“I got a taxi in and we were driving along, coming over by Vincent's hospital and the next stop on your left was St Michael's college, the school, and there were bunches of flowers outside the gate because of the two boys who died in Ios in Greece. 

“I looked at those [the memorial]; they were 18-year-old boys; and I thought to myself in the back of that car, after a few hours of feeling sorry for myself, that my life is interrupted and those family’s lives are destroyed. Cop yourself on.”

Describing that moment as being “humbling in the extreme”, the radio host continued by saying: “in the middle of all of this [RTÉ scandal] that moment really did put manners on me”. 

Ryan said that he felt “relieved and overjoyed” having left the Late Late show when he did, as he said that he had “made the right decision at the right time” and that he was “running out of juice”. 

Sounding upbeat, the host finished the podcast by asking Ryan a number of questions about who makes him laugh and in return, Ryan cracks a Christmas joke and has a lot of laughs.