Tubridy Tonight is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest music group and the house band. Tubridy Tonight aired every Saturday night, except during the summer months, directly after the main evening news. The show's house musical act was Clint Velour and the Camembert Quartet.
Tubridy Tonight was the first successful Saturday night chat show to be broadcast by RTÉ since the ending of Kenny Live in 1999. The programme had regular viewing figures of 450,000, however, the show also regularly fell victim to so-called "Saturday Night Syndrome", with The Late Late Show, broadcast on Friday nights, frequently featuring supposedly better guests. In 2009 Tubridy Tonight came to an end when RTÉ announced that Tubridy would succeed Pat Kenny as host of The Late Late Show for the following series, with the presenter describing Tubridy Tonight as "quite the odyssey".
Background Upon Gay Byrne's retirement from The Late Late Show in 1999, RTÉ announced that Pat Kenny, host of his own Saturday night chat show, would be Byrne's replacement. Kenny Live had aired since 1988 and had been a staple of the RTÉ schedule since the first series. The departure of Pat Kenny to the Friday night slot left a gap in the schedule. Saturday Live, a programme that had originally aired in the late 1980s and featured a different host every week, was revived as a replacement. The second coming of the show proved unpopular and was ended after only one series. Following the axing of Saturday Live RTÉ declined to produce a Saturday night chat show, instead favouring to show a film after the main evening news, labelled "The Big Big Movie". On 9 May 2004, RTÉ announced that Ryan Tubridy would host a new Saturday night chat show that coming autumn.
Tubridy Tonight made its debut on 16 October 2004 for an initial run of ten programmes. It featured Gráinne and Síle Seoige, Hector Ó hEochagáin and Royston Brady as the first interviewees. The programme received relatively good reviews, with Shane Hegarty of The Irish Times describing the show as having gotten off "to a ropey start but improved as it went along". Hegarty bemoaned the fact that the show was broadcast live as "it added nothing to the show apart from a weak caption competition for viewers and a distinct nervousness to the host." An element of the programme which included audience participation was described as a "meek replication of Graham Norton's old routine." The new chat show proved popular with audiences and, after the initial run of ten shows ended, another thirteen shows were commissioned thereby extending the first series.
Tubridy Tonight was broadcast from Studio 4 in the RTÉ Television Centre at Donnybrook, Dublin 4. That studio was also home to the show's Friday night rival The Late Late Show. As RTÉ's biggest, the studio holds 200 audience members.
Format
Tubridy Tonight was in RTÉ One's Saturday night slot from 2004 to 2009, having succeeded Kenny Live upon its demise in 1999. The show had an American-style feel about it with a house band, the Camembert Quartet, providing the theme music and introductory pieces befitting the guests. Similar to American chat shows, Tubridy Tonight had no opening titles and borrowed its informal bantering style from US entertainers such as David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. The studio was revamped for series five in 2008, with the addition of a staircase used by guests and a platform for the house band, although the library theme remained intact. The show followed a simple format. There were usually three interviewees as well as a musical guest. Tubridy may also have conducted a quiz or a game at his leisure with a member of the studio audience, an example being a game of charades based on the Academy Awards, and there also may have been a competition which, upon the show's imminent end, consisted of a live call to a viewer who may or may not win a prize.
Incidents Tubridy Tonight conducted the last live television interview with model and socialite, Katy French only two weeks before her death in suspicious circumstances. The interview took place on 24 November 2007 during the fourth season of the chat show. In 2008, it featured a live fight between chefs Kevin Dundon and Dylan McGrath over their styles of cooking; the duo were on the show to promote Guerrilla Gourmet. On 1 March 2008, Tubridy Tonight saw the first Irish television interview with Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová following their Academy Award-winning show the previous month. Hansard's mother brought the award to display to the nation.Interview with Glen and Markéta RTÉ, 1 March 2008 In February 2009, the show was subject to a hate campaign on social networking site Facebook.
Broadcast dates Seasons Dates1 16 October 2004 – April 20052 2005–20063 23 September 2006 – 19 May 20074 22 September 2007 – 17 May 20085 27 September 2008 – 30 May 2009
List of episodes
Seasons one and two
Interviews Guests on the first two series' of the show included: Bob Geldof, Charles Dance, Bertie Ahern and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. Actress Brenda Fricker appeared with her Oscar and was shown playing drums with the house band. Former tennis player Pat Cash was shown playing guitar. Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow sang The Beatles song "Hey Jude" and encouraged the audience to join in. Hollywood actor Richard E. Grant revealed his reason for appearing in Spiceworld: The Movie.
Also appearing were: comedian Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish international rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll, snooker players Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis, former Emmerdale and Bad Girls actress Claire King, Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay, actor Jimmy Nesbitt, supermodel Twiggy, Naked Camera actor Maeve Higgins (who revealed why she wanted to marry Eddie Hobbs), West Wing actor Martin Sheen, actress Julie Walters, comedian Ross Noble (Who climbed the prop bookcases and inspected the books to see if they were real, before ripping out a picture of Mike Yarwood on one page and wearing it as a mask and television personality Hector Ó hEochagáin.
Musical guests included: Blondie, The Human League (singing "Don't You Want Me") and Natalie Imbruglia (singing "Shiver").
Guests included:
Katy French Twiggy Michelle Heaton Jack P. Shepherd Bertie Ahern Brian O'Driscoll Pauline McLynn Jimmy Nesbitt Hector Ó hEochagáin Boyzone Brian Dowling Fran Cosgrave Bob Geldof Pete Burns Louis Walsh Geri Halliwell Alan Carr Sally Lindsay Colin Farrell Westlife Brendan Gleeson Marco Pierre White Natalie Cassidy David Gest Gavin Ó Fearraigh Rebecca Loos Germaine Greer Eddie Hobbs Uri Geller Alex Best Vanessa Feltz George Galloway
Performances As is standard with televised talk shows, each week an artist was invited to perform a musical composition. Irish musical groups to appear included:
Bell X1 The Blizzards Dark Room Notes Director Fight Like Apes The Frames The Frank and Walters Ham Sandwich Neosupervital Republic of Loose Royseven The Saw Doctors
Irish soloists invited to perform their musical compositions included:
Paddy Casey Cathy Davey Duke Special Julie Feeney Glen Hansard Christy Moore Fionn Regan
Season three International guests in season three included: David Hasselhoff (who entertained the audience with an impromptu version of "Unchain My Heart"), Jack Osbourne, Ainsley Harriott, Paul Burrell, Martin Sheen, Julie Walters, Wendy Richard, Joshua Jackson, Fionnula Flanagan, Andy Summers, Pete Burns, Joanna Lumley and Belinda Carlisle.
Date Interviews Game Performance Song Details 23 September 2006 Sophie Anderton, Ruth Gilligan, Michael Madsen and Mark Mahon, John Connolly Katie Melua "It's Only Pain" Details 30 September 2006 David Hasselhoff, Ken Doherty, Gerry Stembridge, John Connolly Duke Special "Last Night I Nearly Died (But I Woke Up Just in Time)" Details 7 October 2006 Jack Osbourne, Johnny Logan, Hector, John Connolly Deacon Blue "Real Gone Kid" Details 14 October 2006 Twiggy, Bernard Dunne, Clive James, Carol Drinkwater Luan Parle "Corporate Culture" Details 21 October 2006 Ainsley Harriott, Paul Gleeson and Tori Holmes, Paul Burrell, Frederick Forsyth Ray LaMontagne "Trouble" Details 28 October 2006 Martin Sheen and Shay Cullen, Julie Walters, Keith Barry, Chris de Burgh Chris de Burgh "A Spaceman Came Travelling" Details 4 November 2006 Mario Rosenstock, John and Richard Bruton, Des Bishop Royseven "Happy Ever Afters" Details 11 November 2006 Brian Kerr, Colm Wilkinson, Amy Huberman and Leigh Arnold Lucie Silvas "Last Year" Details 18 November 2006 Diarmuid Gavin, Dave Fanning, Maeve Higgins 747s "Rainkiss" Details 25 November 2006 Dara Ó Briain, Gail Porter, Brendan Grace Amy Winehouse "Rehab" Details 2 December 2006 Christy Moore, Risteárd Cooper and Gary Cooke, Patrick Kielty The Blizzards "Fantasy" Details Christmas break 13 January 2007 Wendy Richard, Dr. Mark Hamilton, Lorraine Pilkington Director "Leave It to Me" Details 20 January 2007 Joshua Jackson, Jodie Kidd and Adi Roche, Pat Rabbitte Details 27 January 2007 n/a 3 February 2007 n/a 10 February 2007 n/a 17 February 2007 Bill O'Herlihy, Fionnula Flanagan, Monica Loughman The Waterboys "Everybody Takes a Tumble" Details 24 February 2007 Johnny Briggs, Stephen Roche, Cathy Kelly Idlewild "No Emotion" Details 3 March 2007 Trudie Styler, Ted and Ruby Walsh, Derek Acorah The Hedrons "Heatseeker" Details 10 March 2007 Louis Walsh, Cleo Rocos, Dáithí Ó Sé, Aoife Ní Thuraisc and Sinéad Ní Loideáin, Coleen Nolan The Divine Comedy "A Lady of a Certain Age" Details 17 March 2007 Ray Houghton, Celia Holman-Lee, George Hook, Glen Hansard Glen Hansard "Say It to Me Now" Details 24 March 2007 Eddie O'Sullivan, Kathryn Thomas, Belinda Carlisle, Jeff Banks Belinda Carlisle "Avec le Temps" Details 31 March 2007 Carrie Crowley and Conor Mullen, Andy Summers, Jean Butler, Brian Harvey Details 7 April 2007 Pete Burns, Sonia O'Sullivan, Marian Keyes, Joe Duffy Details 14 April 2007 Joanna Lumley, John McGuire, Paolo Tullio Brian McFadden "Like Only a Woman Can" Details 21 April 2007 n/a 28 April 2007 n/a 5 May 2007 Paul Williams, Hector Ó hEochagáin, Mick O'Dwyer Maria Doyle Kennedy "F'Ability" Details 12 May 2007 n/a 19 May 2007 Gerard Byrne, Peter Corry and Gavin O'Fearraigh, Brian Blessed, Pauline McLynn Paula Flynn "Let's Dance" Details
Season four International guests in season four included: Christian Slater, Jennie Bond, David Gest, Sophie Dahl, Myleene Klass, Janice Dickinson, Barbara Windsor, Frank Vincent, Dominic Purcell, Kathleen Turner, Martin Freeman, Carol Vorderman, Patsy Palmer, Max Clifford, Geri Halliwell, Joe Elliott and Morgan Spurlock.