Better Late Late than never - Ryan Tubridy

25:54Then you talk about the showbiz stuff. Of course, that's there. But the heavy stuff resonates all the time. So the idea, I think you've just nailed it, actually, where the idea that we all want to gather somewhere at the end of the week to say, what was that? And I think the Late Late Show always had that and can have it if it wants it. and live sorry last point is that terrestrial TV is going to be saved largely by big event moments on TV whether that's a sports event or a general election or whatever but a chat show has to sustain itself week in week out now it's a shorter run which is of benefit as well and that makes sense but by the way when I said C-list British guests yeah that was very offensive yeah but actually but well I'll extra I'm having a pop at you no no but I will drag more out of that I would also say I would also say that like even Tom Cruise or Will Ferrell who both were on the show when I was there of course they were I would even go like you know they're available so often so many different places that I would for example would you prefer Will Ferrell or would you prefer let's say an absolute big Barney about the M9 motorway crash I know which one would rate yeah well which one It's not Will Ferrell.

27:13Exactly. It's not Will Ferrell. And I wouldn't do it just for the rating. I do it because people would go, I can't get this debate anywhere else, but I can get Will Ferrell everywhere else. That's it. That's exactly it. The problem, it's not a problem, but the reality is once upon a time, you could only see Will Ferrell on a chat show, be it in the States, in the UK or in Ireland. Now Will Ferrell might have an Instagram account. You see them every day, everywhere, all the time being interviewed. There's nothing new in it. Yes, he'll come to Ireland and it is getting a little bit, you know, what's your favourite, Taito?

27:45And we need to watch that, you know, where's the best Guinness and chicken roll. And that's all good. And it's funny, but it's getting a little repetitive and 55 influencers asking them about crisps. Correct. We need to hold our horses there because the currency of quality conversation is being debased a little bit by goofy questions about Ireland. So I've asked them, I'm guilty and I'm saying it to myself. I think they have a place. They have a place. So we'll say that. But sorry, back to your point. A debate on the M50 versus Will Ferrell. I think you're right. This is our USP and that's what always rated.

28:20I remember the night we had Tom Cruise on. I think he was outrated by something more local. Agreed. And that's how it works. Agreed. And people would be surprised to hear that, maybe. And also, Ryan, I said this as well on the podcast with Paddy and Larissa. It was, if you could get to a stage where you're not being afraid of being intelligent. All right? What do you mean by that? he says asking somebody to explain something about intelligence. A lot of people in TV and in media these days are afraid of being complex or being intelligent. They're afraid their audience won't get it. Well, that's a great mistake.

28:55It is a huge mistake because... Intelligence of an audience. Exactly. Yeah. I believe that if you make something that's smart and if you have intelligent contributors on something, your audience will find you. So, for example, of all the people... I remember Gay Byrne making Eulich O 'Connor absolutely famous on the Late Late Show years ago. Hewlett O 'Connor. Yeah. I mean, this is like very highbrow sort of. It's like, you know, Dick Cavett, who was a famous presenter in the States, who would have had, you know. Smart. Yeah, he'd have Bobby Kennedy, John Lennon, and Norman Mailer for an hour and a half and 20 cigarettes and three bottles of wine.

29:32Now, I have to say that, I would love a show like that. I'd love to bring it back. It may be a little healthier, but yes. Yeah. So, I think what, To go back to what you were saying a bit earlier on, Mario, the idea of the podcast, people said, oh, TikTok generation, we don't have the appetite for three seconds. Hold on a second. The greatest, the most consumed podcasts in the world at the moment are long-form conversations, which chimes with what you were saying. People have an appetite, they have an ability, an aptitude, and an interest in intelligent conversation. And that's why I don't miss The Late Late Show, largely because The 10, 12 minute interviews were starting to drive me mad.

30:12Now I can do a bookshelf podcast, have somebody on for 45 minutes. Actually, very little editing because I want a natural flow conversation. And mistakes and imperfections are good. Precisely. And it breathes. And I think that the audience are ready for that. I agree with you. And I think that's what Patrick Keelty was saying was, can we go back a little bit back to the basics? I don't know if it's right but I'd be inclined to agree with him And radio do you listen to RT radio or anything? Not as much if no in fact no I don't Very honest answer Well it's honest only because I might listen to Shea Byrne or Marty I love Marty and Shea their shows are so Marty Whelan Sorry Marty Whelan I love Lyrica Marty I do him as a character on the radio who doesn't talk Yeah just Everything can be communicated just through a couple of blustering.

31:08Which he does. He does. Yeah, I'm sceptical now. I listen to those. I listen to those guys. And it's largely, I tell you, that's not out of any animosity either because that is because I now work in British radio, largely, and it's current affairs radio. And the station I work for is called Times Radio, which is linked in with the Times newspaper and Sunday Times newspaper. And it is really intense even though I only do one show from London Bridge every Sunday Three hours Three hours one to four but like this week for example when we're recording our chat I'm doing a show on Friday morning Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon three hours each on my own talking about the you know Andy Burnham in Kiev as he was this week I'll be talking about homelessness in the UK and if I'm not listening to all of that all the time I'm not I'm not going to be a good presenter Exactly So I'm embedded in UK I read their papers Do you listen to the stuff that I was telling you off air that I did a lot of listening to James O 'Brien and stuff I listen to LBC quite a bit Well I listen to it occasionally but I tend to be more like a company man because they're my colleagues Listen to your own stuff and there's a lot of content on your own Huge and it's a lovely station because I'm a news hound so if you listen to say BBC Four you might get The Archers or something actually I just want to hear news so you know you're going to get news so it's not that BBC Four is fine of course but it's I just love the archers just brings me back to when are you sitting comfortably then let us begin listen with mother did you listen to all that stuff see my grandmother who I based my Michael D Higgins impression on brilliant my grandmother talked like that and although she was from County Waterford she was something of a hyacinth bouquet in the sense that she believed she wasn't meant to be here yes and she used to tell me about all these people who Dirk Bogard Dirk Bogard the actor Hermione Gingold John Gielgud Yes Now Mario you listen to Radio 4 Alistair Cook's Letter from America Nice So I grew up I was like 7 and 8 going into school in Waterford going Anybody hear Alistair Cook's Letter from America there last night by are the Archers and the people in Waterford going who the fuck are the Archers are they living up in Grange Yeah yeah yeah or is it a pub where's the Archers and is that near the mental hospital because it was called the mental and hospitals, you know, mental institutions were called de mental.

33:34But anyway, so I grew up listening to Radio 4, Ryan. But yeah, so yeah, so Times Radio. So I listen to them and read the UK papers. What's, I kind of have passing. England, UK is in a funny place, I think. Yeah, it's a fascinating place to be. I think it's, you know, I do follow Irish politics obviously still and it's actually quite calm here compared to over in the UK. Quite feral over there. it had seven prime ministers in ten years I mean it's it's really interesting place to be it's House of Cards and Wolf Hall writ large 2026 all together and Burnham was the king of the north and he made his way south I mean the drama is amazing and then only recently you had Wallace and Simpson you had Meghan coming home with Harry and that has the place abuzz they are obsessed with Meghan Markle now I met Meghan for 30 seconds you did actually that's well known and we got a picture to take it together.

34:29And then one of my colleagues in the Late Late at the time when she later ended up with Harry got the picture put on a mug with our picture together with myself and Megan and the love heart, the happy couple. So I still have that cup. But the point is I find myself on the radio saying over there when we're doing newspaper panels we're saying why do you hate her so much? And there's a serious point to be made here which I'll say briefly. There was a guy, an academic you probably heard about who died by suicide recently. Jason Arday. Jason Arday. And there was a terrible pylon on him for one week.

35:01One week, he was being hounded and hounded because he was plagiarizing and he was a bit of a fabulist. And he was somebody who kind of made his way to the top with peculiar means. And he had a difficult relationship with the truth by the sounds of things. Either way, no one should die for those reasons. But the pylon was pretty grotesque. and my feeling is that the way they talk about Meghan Markle I don't care if you like her or not don't stop like just leave her you don't have to take to the keyboard or write a really horrible headline you know if you don't like somebody I just don't like the the meanness of of the media coverage it's still got a culture of which goes all the way back to Fleet Street in the 60s, 70s and 80s it's still got a culture of of nastiness in it they will go personal they'll go after you whereas in Ireland I mean I'm talking to the wrong guy here well you are a little bit because I'm talking to the wrong guy here who's taken an absolute baiting yeah but yeah for months and months in a row yeah yeah but to tend not to actually I'm looking at the wrong guy I'm still looking at the wrong guy yeah yeah yeah regardless of what side of my own do you feel resent just jump in here now yeah yeah do you feel and I know you'll be honest with me do you feel any resentment towards the Irish media for what many people would perceive as just an absolute fucking pile-on on you.

36:23I would say the misfortune in my case was that it happened in August. Like the story broke in June and it was a summer story. So it was easier to cover relentlessly. Also, I think that there was people do like to see the big fish in the pond taken out. So there's a kind of peculiar joy to that for some people. Wasn't it the fact that there was an anger as well at the institution and that they just used you as the kind of... Well, I would characterize it along those lines. But it's funny. Is that a scapegoat? I think that's what I hear on the street all the time. That's what I think, yeah. Well, that's what I hear on the street all the time.

37:01And there'll be others who don't agree with that. That's the site panification of it. When they say they don't agree with it, what do you think they're saying? I think they're saying that I should have been a little louder in my objections to the way things were done. I agree. And there's truth in that too. and that's I feel bad about that Having said that it's not easy for you to be a little louder about the things so for example They had a Byzantine way of doing business They did and you know I probably should have shouted louder about that Like anybody else anybody who works in entertainment or even any business sometimes you do a gig or sometimes you do a job and they go so what we're going to do is we're going to pay you we're going to pay you this and we're going to pay you through this this way and we're going to pay you through the third bit this way and you're there okay it sounds a bit like okay right but is it all above board?

37:49Yeah. Are we paying tax? Is everyone happy? Now in fairness you're not a chartered accountant. I can't add. Are you meant to monitor them for their own payment methods? My feeling was always I was fortunate enough to have people to look after that so I just focused on presenting shows and then I was a bit taken aback by it. But that was my naivety and stupidity in some ways. What could you have done differently then if you're saying it's your naivety and stupidity if it happened to you again now? I should have been more attentive to it. How could you have been attentive? I should have read everything looked at everything taken out a calculator and then and ultimately said to them this doesn't look right yeah I don't like the look of that or something like that they would have said to you you leave us do our job Brian and you do your job yeah yeah they would have and they're your goose either way but I saw one head the ball writing recently saying I wish he'd stopped talking about all of that and I do I don't talk about it it's only because I'm asked about it I don't get any great joy about going back talking about that time because it was very dark and unpleasant but you know if you look at my for example my Instagram account it's never mentioned so I'm not going around talking about it it's just when I do an interview unfortunately it's going to be one of those things that will follow me for a while and I'm only answering because I'm out of politeness I presume you are and I presume you understand that there are a lot of people a lot of people out there who would think pretty much what I'm thinking that that this utterly utterly bizarre situation for somebody to find themselves in yeah it was bizarre and it is because you're part of a state organisation or a semi-state organisation that people feel they have a right to weigh in.

39:22But the thing turned into an utterly Kafka-esque situation. You must have been wondering at some stage. You must have been wondering often. Because I was wondering on your behalf, and that's not just because I know you. I know people who didn't know you must have been wondering on your behalf in the maybe five or six minutes they might have given to you on a day to think about it or two minutes. What the hell is going on here? Hang on, am I Liam Lawler? Am I Ray Burke? What the f... What am I being made out to be here? Yeah. I mean, this has to have been going on in your brain where you felt, am I living in the real world here?

39:58Yeah, well, I was in the middle of it and it was just very... It was deeply upsetting. And yeah, I was bewildered and puzzled. My son gets... He's done his leaving. Yeah. And in the last couple of years, of course, they're also active on the stuff they see coming in the TikTok. But because I knew you and everything, he'd shown me stuff at night, you know, just a dad. Listen to this. What's happening to what? It's Tubbs. What's going on with Tubbs? And he'd shown me this video, right, of you going into a spa. Oh, yeah. That was before all of this. That was the guys with the vaccine. Yeah. Well, you going into a spa and then you're on your way, presumably, because I know you.

40:37You know where I was going? Donahoo's. Oh, Donahoo's. Oh, Donahoo's. You're going over to Donahoo's to meet people for a quiet pint. And this fella's there, Ryan Torberti, you have a lot to answer for, you scrub. There was two of them, by the way. Right. And they were probably in their 30s. I'd say a lot of time in the gym, beards, and they just saw me walking past them on the street and followed me into the shop. Yeah. Recorded. I didn't speak to them because they were so angry and about the vaccinations. And that happened after COVID. I became Johnny Vax and as far as they were concerned. So it comes back to that.

41:12like even when the big RT thing happened people who didn't who maybe didn't like what I did anyway just went oh now we have a real quality reason to dislike him or whatever so lots of people you know even before anything like before COVID people half the people thought you're a pain in the arse RT thing half the people think you're right so and then the other half are people on the street saying where are you come back we miss you you know and it's really lovely must have really the public are amazing it must have been thrown it must have thrown you into mentally a very hard place It was tricky, yeah.

41:43I had to read up a little bit about you, even though I know a good bit about you, but I still had to read up a bit about you. And I believe that you did take therapy before any of this happened. Oh yeah, that's right. You had engaged in therapy. I had, yeah, really good guy. And you found it clicked with you, it worked. Hugely so. Yeah, I'd had to go at it about 10 years previously and it didn't click. And then I met somebody and it did click and that was tremendously helpful. Yeah. Yeah, because I was making decisions, big life decisions at the time, including giving up the Late Late Show. Yeah.

42:09And that happened then. and I just wanted to talk it all through. And yeah, that was great. Really great. And did you continue after the... I continued for a while. The RTE thing. Yeah, I did. And now, not so much now because I'm very happy and settled and the world is a good place again. Yeah. I used to watch, when I used to come in to the Late Late Show, I used to meet you beforehand, as I said, and I'd do a few impressions for you. I'd always do Gay Burn for you. Yeah. And all, and sometimes... Well, when you did the... when Gay went off on his little Americanisms on the slide that always he you know he'd do the kind of 40s villain yeah and this is an unfortunate little behind the scenes story I remember going to you once because I'm always trying to think of new things and you said how are you fixed tonight how are you doing and you know I go I'm great I actually have a little idea for you Ryan and he went what is it and I went I think there because Gay had died recently and I said I think there are three gay burns and he went go on tell us tell us and I was saying there was the original gay burn which was a bit like Eamon Andrews and it was would you welcome please the Beatles That's right That little BBC Slight little BBC thing But it's also trying to maintain The Dublin thing Yes And it's a little bit like that I'm not leaving Dublin behind But I'm also doing Slight received Slight received presentation John George Ringo And Paul The Beatles Yes Right And then in the American In the early 70s then He went into Obviously American TV Was massive And he went Okay let's have it going here We're going to have A little rattle tattle That'll do He's going to do A little diddly idle doodle dance Then Hal Roach Is going to be on Do a little bit of Ha ha ha and then after that we're going to talk to Peter Euston off tofferoonie tofferoonie tofferoonie and then in the I don't know where it comes from but it's there you've got it right and then what's the last one and the last one the last one is the hooded eyes the meaning of life this is do you believe in Satan are you Satan Bono you are Satan you wore the horns if you meet Satan at the gate what do you say to him howdy doody buddy the hooded eyes the hooded eyes and everything so it all went wise and hooded yes it went Yoda Yodafication you fell around the corridor laughing at this and you went let's do it tonight please and then the producers went no can't do it bid soon so it was always a bit like yeah big big very careful you know who has that is do you remember Wurzel Gummidge yeah and do you remember Tom Pertwee yeah exactly and do you remember he'd go into the shed and he'd have all the heads yeah that's right so he'd have a cake eating head or he'd have the posh head or the intellectual head yes yes I think Tommy Tommy Tiernan's like Wurzel Gummidge.

44:38As in? As in, in his shed he's got the diff, he's got philosopher Tommy Head. Okay. He's got goof back of the class head. He's got... Tinker Tommy. Yeah, precisely. He's got all those different elements to it and, you know, he was a great guest for us on the podcast and we did a live show in Galway. Yes. And we got, I was saying, which head is coming in? Yes. And actually we got a weird licorice all sorts of a mix of all the best of him. Great. We got his greatest hits in a head. Great, great. He was brilliant, yeah. The bookshelf, those sold out very well. Yeah, that was a great... And you've got another one coming up on Friday the 11th of December in the pavilion.

45:16I've got two... Plug-a-rooney. We've got... Look at that, total pro. Washed him down, turned him around, put him through the car wash, out he came. Plug-a-rooney, 11th of December. Get on the tickety-wickety, master. We have... We're doing... Actually, we're going to do a matinee show for kids that day. Yeah. Well, so it's four o 'clock and eight o 'clock because a friend of mine's daughter said, why don't you do one for us? I said, that's a good idea. Let's do one for that. So I'm looking forward to that. Kind of kids and reading. They're all the rage now, do you know, the matinees? Are they?

45:45Yeah. So I'm going to do them as well. Are you? Yeah. So here's the deal, right? So the world has changed. The world of live entertainment has changed. So the first person I saw doing it around this neck of the woods was Jimmy Carr. Jimmy Carr will come into Dublin and he'll do three nights at the Olympia, but he'll also do Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. That's so clever. for childminding and people don't want to get drunk all the time correct so some people go do you know what I like Jimmy Carr but I want to I want to see him in the afternoon I don't want to drink I want to go home in the evening and I want to go out to do something else in the evening do whatever yeah that's really clever so matinees are now in so they'll go well for you I'm an accidental zeitgeist yeah that could be a chapter title but anyway anyway back to the late late just for a minute because can I can I you'll have to sort me out on this one go on I feel like Columbo here right because you're going to have to get that later just one more thing okay just one more thing okay the whole thing about the late late I buy it I understand believe it but what the one thing I can't understand you're going to have to sort me out I'll try now how did you give up the late late and then just a few months later all this stuff happened do you not think that is the most staggering coincidence in the world yeah I do yeah do you yeah do you not think that to some people it sounds unbelievable Yeah, I do.

47:02Okay. But they're wrong. Right. Perverse. Well, I looked in the mirror in March in the dressing room and I said, I think I'm done here. Really? Yeah. And then I went to a meeting with my agent and his number two. And we sat in his office. I said, lads, I don't have another season in me. Did they say you're mad? They said you're mad, yeah. They said, you've got another year in your contract. You've got to finish it out. and I said, I don't think I physically, mentally have it in me. I know this sounds bonkers, but it's true. I believe it. And you have to, because it's true. And they said, Jesus, okay.

47:40And they looked me in the eyes and I was kind of getting upset and they were saying, is it that bad? I said, yeah, I think COVID sucked the life out of me doing that show. You were on it for two or three years and I think I want to go exploring things and if I could finish it before my 50th birthday, it just feels right. So on the day before my 50th birthday, I did my last Late Late Show. There was a message from Paul McCartney, all of my colleagues and staff came out on the show. There was no hint of anything. I went to Connemara the next, I was madly in love with my relatively new girlfriend partner at that stage, Claire, now my wife.

48:15And about two weeks after I finished, I said, great. And I was kind of plotting and scheming, where to next from here? I was really excited about the world opening up and going okay I'll go to London and I might do my books podcast which I've been dying to do I felt this great relief and this great sense of now what's next and it was lovely it just it was a lot of I just I loved it I loved that I'd given it up in good time I felt it felt like a right decision despite what I'd been advised and then I got a phone call to say there's something brewing and I said well I don't know what you're talking about and that's what happened so yeah yeah um flipping hell yeah I know it's a bit mad isn't it it is I have nothing more to say about that yeah I think yeah what can I say that's just you asked me for an undiluted truthful answer and there you go and no regrets leaving it you made the right decision did you I made the right decision I think if they had if they had agreed to make some changes but that's what yeah you know I thought the length of the show the length of the run I was saying could we have a look at that and there was no shifting on that and I said fair enough well if you can't well then I really don't have that in me and then that was the end of that so no I don't regret it at all I don't miss it at all I loved it but I don't miss it yeah you know I miss probably the radio side of things a little bit I like I love where I am now but I did love my audience and the listeners and the conversation yeah a lot of it you were very suited for because you you are a kind of I was very much myself you come alive at night and you're able to get up for the show yeah you're able to get up for a show you're a showbiz kind of person I have a showbiz And I don't mean that in a bad way, but there are some people who are, some people are good at what they do, but they're not necessarily showbiz.

49:54Yeah. You like showbiz. I love it. I love meeting the people. You love the smell of grease paint. I do, I do, but I don't miss TVs that much. I think I'm going to get into some documentary making now, and that's really more where I'm at. I don't want a TV show as such. Documentary making is, I was saying to somebody, I'd love theirs. It's a pretty cool place to be. Well, I hope so. I mean, I've got my love of books and history. History, yeah. You know, it lends itself to it, you know so you know and so that's probably the next plan and of a book or two floating around the back of my head too so it's all it's always plotting and yeah I describe it as being like for 20 years plus I had you know six pack of Myers bars and they were tasty and but it was getting a little samey now I have a selection box so I have a different bar of chocolate What about the 9 to 10 in the morning did you enjoy did you miss that?

50:46Yeah I did miss that I thought it was a great slot. And did you like that particular hour? I did like that hour and I thought I was very good at it. Did you ever think I would have wanted two hours? No. And it was often talked about. I felt it was a very neat hour that we nailed. So we'd open with the monologue. Generally one interview. And one interview and then audience coming. I just felt a lovely connection with the audience. Like really nice vibe. That radio gold where you form a club like you have with Ian where you know your listeners and they know you and there's great trust and you say don't go to that film or do read that book.

51:18And, you know, and I really enjoyed that connection. Consistency as well is important. Ian's always talking about that, consistency. Yeah. Like we got, for example, not to blow our own trumpet, but we got good numbers the last time. Big ones. Yeah, big ones. But we kind of go, gee, this is great news altogether. We're texting each other and this is, is it ever going to stop? This is fantastic. Up and up you go. And Ian just went, look, maybe in a world gone mad, consistency is where people are coming back to. Yeah. Back to, you have a very authentic show as well. And I think that's really important.

51:47that authenticity. But yeah, consistency is a good word. People just, there's so little. That's why Agatha Christie sold so many books back in wartime because people had no, nothing to rely on. They had no consistency. But these books in the course of 200 pages said, here's the problem, here's the solution, here's resolution. And at last, they had this in little books that they could read. So that's what people like that, whether it's a radio show or a book. Very good. And you were very nice, actually. Sorry, this is meant to be about you, but you did say, that you did say that you're enjoying some of the new characters that I've been producing on the radio.

52:20Yeah, I think you're Ivan Yates. You've now, you've honed in on Ivan brilliantly. When you bring, this is how, when you can pirouette from Ivan to Matt without, you know, batting an eyelid. That's part of your... Oh, I love that. So Matt became a popular character recently as well and it was just, it's just a high-pitched thing. I used to do him as a pigeon years ago. I remember. So I used to always just go, Yoo-hoo, woo-hoo. And now I just talk about Saturday and what we're going to do. And Ivan, Ivan, Ivan, why would you say that? Well, Matt, here's the thing. Everything I say, Matt, is important.

52:59And Paddy Power have the odds out now. The big question is, will Ryan Tubber-Dee grow a beard? and people are saying that this beard could be personally catastrophic for Tupperty this is so good but I find it I love the personally catastrophic bit like why would a beard be personally but the way you say my name as Ivan is really good Tupperty you know whatever way you did it there and the other one you were liking was Brendan your Brendan O 'Connor is eerie eerily good so when you're coming on the show would you like to talk about your mental health problems, Ryan. We know you took therapy. You know, you love Connemara.

53:45But, like, what I want to talk about is how dark did you get? Like, you know, did you get really dark? Or just dark, you know, the light before the fall or the dawn? The dawn before the dusk or darkness? How dark did it get? You know, the band called the darkness? I believe anything called love. Did you get really, really dark? Was there something on the night about you? I mean, did you ever think about it, Ryan? No, no, don't go there. Okay, we won't go there now. but actually I'd like you to go there because we're all thinking about the ratings now and I'm thinking about the front page as well tomorrow I haven't written it yet but you could do that for me maybe you could scrim a load of you dark, dark, very dark or really dark Ryan don't you like your costume?

54:24okay and this is a Paul Simon song you picked as well is it? hello dark, this is my old friend okay very good I just made that up on the spot it's good you're just riffing I'm just riffing yeah it's great so you like Brendan I think you do great Brendan I think you do great Ivan Okay Couple of friends of yours Russell Crowe Oh Russell yes That's hilarious Love that Tennis with Russell Crowe Ah yeah I know you like your tennis don't you and that became I mean you alluded to earlier on how there was a bit of a touch of the kind of where are we going after the show about our late lates and regularly we'd go out on the tear and Russell and myself went out one night with a few of the team and he was kind of chatting away and we were getting on fine until I said that I had written a letter to a former Australian Prime Minister called Gough Whitlam who was sacked by the Governor General in the 1970s.

55:17And he said, you're out of Gough Whitlam? I said, yeah. He was really popular for the Liberals. And I was in college studying history and I did Australian history. And little did they think it would come back because you'd say, why the hell am I studying history? Well, because one day you'll be talking to Australian Prime Minister. Oh, hilarious, yeah. You know what I mean? And I was saying to him... He must have been so blown away with that. He was blown away. Do you know the name of that Prime Minister? Yeah. And I said, and Mr. Whitlam wrote back to me a beautiful letter with some documents that he was working on and he said mate we've got to sit down so we sat down we had pints now he was having he likes tequila tequila so he was having tequila I can't drink I love my pints but I can only have a few and I was having pints of Guinness and my team were seeing me getting a little bit you know going and I also like and what they were doing is I'd get to the half a pint and they'd reach in take out half the pint put a fresh one in so I wasn't drinking so it was a never ending pint but just kind of to temper me they were brilliant and then so we stayed in touch and then he was over filming The Pope's Exorcist in Dublin and I met him and he said will you come up and play tennis up in the house it was the house that Matt Damon with his yeah bag of cans yeah yeah bag of cans and so for about eight weeks eight Sundays in a row with myself and Russell and his partner and some pals would play tennis I've seen good few interviews with him and he's a very interesting fella bright and well informed and curious He's very well informed and he's very curious and he's very loyal and he's got a great kind streak to him.

56:45And we meet in London sometimes and we stay in touch. He's a great supporter of a brilliant guy who I now love called Dave Lofts, a singer. He's going to go, I think, all the way. So that's kind of nice. And he's invited me out to his place a few times now in Australia, but I haven't had the chance to go. But I'll just finish this Russell bit by saying I was sitting outside a pub in Dorky as it happens one night with him with a couple of pals and a little person was walking along by the pub the place was empty and I said lads I think that's Sinead O 'Connor and I said bear with me and I went up and she was very small and I said Sinead and she said Ryan I said how are you she said come here I said we were hugging as we were hugging I heard the footsteps and I look over my shoulder and it's Russell and he goes can I meet Sinead?

57:38I said yeah of course Sinead this is Russell, Russell this is Sinead this is a bizarre story and they hugged and she disappeared into his gladiatorial arms but it was very warm and sincere and I said would you like to join us, we were having a pint she said yeah yeah I'd love to so she came down, she had a coffee and a couple of smokes and we were talking and suddenly Russell had been holding court and Sinead then became the lion you know and we became the mice and she held court even with her diminished you know not diminished but diminutive and she held court and we were all blown away and you know we had a lovely conversation and off we went and the next day Russell sent me a text saying that was just so lovely to meet Sinead I really enjoyed that and Sinead sent me a text going oh my god Russell Crowe is he single and what Aftershave does was he was very and I said I said no and I'll find out for you but yeah and then and then she passed away probably about a year or so not long after that but yeah it was it was one of those weird encounters yeah yeah yeah a nice encounter actually and he was a happy one sounds brilliant it's a good picture you picked painted as well but his depiction I saw when he saw clips of it I didn't see them of Herman Goering yeah saw that yeah it's good wasn't it yeah it's good yeah it's really good really good really good good job in that he had the the build for it in the steely stare.

59:06Yeah, I think it was well, well, well reviewed as well. Yeah, I enjoyed it. Terrific, terrific actor. What was it, The Insider as well? Was he in The Insider? The Insider. Yeah, it's terrific in The Insider. Back in the day. Beautiful Mind, yeah, and the one, obviously, I think Denzel. Oh, yeah. Now, gosh. I can't remember, but he's brilliant in that as well. Yeah, really good. And so, like, you look for, you know, you're on camera, but you're also on audio. You look well I feel good Yeah you do look well Yeah well I'm Because you know what I'd sometimes meet you At the Late Late Show Right years ago I'd be looked fucked I'd be Banjax Oh yeah Because you'd had a hard week Yeah It's a late night TV It was really It was Adrenaline is flying And you would You would sometimes look Now your energy would be great But you would be tired looking But I'd be tired looking As I was Banjax You're fresh looking now Yeah no I feel better now Also I started running A few years ago Okay But I'm not going to talk about it Because it's so boring But I really enjoy that Do a little bit of that What do you mean it's boring Running isn't boring Hake is boring and I eat haake.

1:00:06Do you eat haake? There's only two ways to do it running and haake. No, no I don't. Well done. And in fairness he was running a long time before. How about we start a podcast XRT Legends. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ray and Ryan. Ray and Ryan. Ray and Ryan. Run with Ray and Ryan. Run with Ray and Ryan. Let's do it. Anyway, fair play. So, and Piers Morgan. Yeah. Friends with him. Well I don't know I'll overstate the case. He's like myself a curate's egg or at least he describes himself as being quite like Marmite and I know that's what happens when you're in the public eye One of the biggest journalists in the world now He is and he's you know I know you had a great conversation with my pal Mark Little on this podcast Yes and he was talking about you described as being ahead of the curve actually Piers Morgan is ahead of the curve he gets a bad press but sometimes from people who I think don't listen closely enough to what he has to say because actually he's more reasonable than one might think or has been.

1:01:06Do you know what a common do you know what a common comment you see on about Piers Morgan on the internet? No I don't. Hate Piers Morgan but couldn't agree with him more about this. What a thing to say. Isn't that a funny one? It is a funny one. So in other words he does actually land he does actually land at reasonable positions on a lot of big issues. I think there's possibly some historical issues with Piers as well. Maybe there's the historical stuff and that's fine. You don't need to go into it. I only know him as somebody who I've met a few times socially and he's been extremely welcoming to me in London really really kind and he sees himself as Irish well his dad was Irish I know but well that's his dad he almost identifies as Irish he died when he was one so he was yeah but he does love his Irishness but yeah he's a good guy are you all well?

1:01:54yeah really good I mean I'm heading off to London now after this evening I've got interviews tomorrow with Mark Gatiss of Doctor Who and Sherlock fame and with Robert Harris, one of my favourite authors, a new book out called Agrippa. So I'm going to be chatting with them and meeting some interesting people over the next few days and by the time this broadcast goes out I'll probably be on my holidays. I'm taking a couple of days off in a week or two off in September. So that's much needed. Well, thank you. And from a personal perspective I think it's absolutely great to see you. Thank you. It's good to see you.

1:02:29It's a funny kind of relationship because we had a lot in common. we have a lot in common and we go back a long way and you know jeepers just watching from the outside some of that stuff I think you're a bit flabbergasted by it I am flabbergasted by it and it's the most bizarre situation it was very peculiar I've ever experienced but I've tried to but on we go on you go completely yeah I just wanted to try and see it from maybe a hypothetical outsider's point of view as well who might have been asking questions but we got through that so that's fantastic so thank you and it's brilliant to see you healthy and well and in all sorts of areas thriving this okay plug-a-rooney again Friday the 11th Friday December the 11th yes matinee at 4 and so bookshelf podcast live me and a guest I do the first 20 minutes is showbiz stories like the when I just told like a gay used to do that just like that and there's stories about different shows and different guests good and questions are beamed up from the audience on a bar.

1:03:35Brilliant. So that's quite an QR code. And so that's quite nice. It makes it quite interactive. And then the guest comes out and also questions come from the audience. So it's in the round in that sense. And it's lovely. And the pavilion in Dunleary in Dublin is a beautiful venue. It's just a nice size and it's just a real lovely human connection, as you well know, on the stage. I do, yeah. It's lovely. You can reach out. Lovely stage. And lovely raked seating. Yeah. Hey, thanks for having me on your show. Thank you. It's really good to see you. Thank you for spending. so giving of your time being so generous with your time as always thank you personally brilliant to see you you look great and let's stay in touch onwards definitely

1:04:12and my thanks to Tubbs for coming in and talking to me and good luck in everything he's doing and at the end of the interview we said let's stay in touch and hopefully we will my thanks to you the listener the most important element of this podcast for listening tell one other person about this podcast mariorosenstock at gmail.com Thank you to Hum, our great sponsor, for getting involved. And I'll see you, same time, same place, next week.