Last year, Ryan Tubridy shocked the nation by announcing that he would be stepping down from his role on The Late Late Show.
He had helmed the iconic chat show for 14 years.
Now one year on from his announcement, Ryan has reflected on the moment he knew it was time to go.
The 50-year-old explained that he had an “epiphany” that his time as Late Late host was over.
Writing in his column for the Irish Mail on Sunday, he explained: “There was a moment in August 2023 when, like an epiphany, I felt it was time, and after talking it through with family and a few friends (who were all surprised until I explained myself), I felt so liberated.
I was so tired and out of juice post-pandemic, and things were simply not sitting right for me. If I stayed on, I’d let my team down, myself down and my audience down. Nobody would win.
“Making the announcement was liberating and the run from March to May was tremendous fun.”
He went on to reference the RTÉ payment scandal: “I was a new man, ready for new adventures, and then well, that’s for another day too.”
“I was so happy I chose to go when I did. It was a little earlier than I was contractually obliged to go but I knew in my heart [it was time to go],” he said on her podcast.
“I heard before from certain presenters that ‘if you’re not feeling it, don’t stick around.’ And I started to not feel it. If I stuck around for another season, it would have been unfair to the team, to the viewers, to myself.”
He admitted that he was “out of juice” when it came to presenting the show. Adding that it was the COVID-19 pandemic that “took so much out of” him.
