Last year saw huge changes with Virgin Media, as the broadcaster made massive switches to presenter line-ups and it also said goodbye to midday program, the Elaine show, which had been running for ten years.
We spoke with Elaine Crowley at Virgin Media’s spring launch and she shared that she was ready to say goodbye to the show she loved so much; “I almost feel guilty saying it but I I was kind of burnt out from it, as I’d done as much as I could with it, and I knew it was time to do something different because my heart wasn’t in it anymore.”
In particular she shared that lockdown made it difficult, as the format of a panel show is so much harder to do when you don’t have guests in studio; “At the start of lockdown I was just talking to three screens and then a guest for one day or two days.”
Continuing she added; “You can’t do a panel show like that. It’s soul destroying trying to keep it going.”
Elaine also shared that it was tiring trying to keep the format of the show running smoothly with everything else remote, she said; “I missed the girls and I missed the craic and I missed the way the show used to be before lockdown, but doing a chat show virtually I just wasn’t able to do it anymore.”
However, as she was a producer on the Elaine show, it meant she had control over the topics and guests, something she misses now she’s on Ireland AM; “It’s a difficult transition when you’re a bit of a control freak like I was.”
“I am not 100% delighted with it because it’s hard to let go of that.”
However, Elaine also shared that not being fully in control is also a good thing as the pressure is off; “I never realised how stressed I was for a decade.”
Chatting about how she’s finding her new role she said; “I worked on Ireland AM for eight years before so I’m kind of fairly well versed with the format so it’s kind of like riding a bike in one way. But the early start for the show, like getting up at four o’clock in the morning is disgusting, it really is. I don’t think I’m really used to that.”
“It’s different, but it’s good. I do miss the old show, I miss the banter and the craic with the girls and the lads but you know, it’s a funny one, I’m not quite used to it yet.
