- Music
- 04 Dec 14
Extending Joe Duffy's show appears unlikely as Derek Mooney leaves afternoon show to become wildlife executive.
Speculation has been mounting furiously as to who will replace Derek Mooney, following the announcement that the flagship afternoon presenter was moving into production at the national broadcaster.
One theory which has been emerging is that RTÉ might extend the Joe Duffy Show – which has been one of the stations’s big ratings winners for many years. However, some RTÉ sources insist that the programme is already long enough, given the sensitive nature of many of the topics covered from a legal point of view, and the difficult issues that are often aired.
“It is a very difficult gig,” Hot Press was told, “and Joe does an amazing job handling it. I doubt that he would be up for extending the broadcasting times for a start. He has enough on his plate."
According to industry insiders, among the early front runners to replace Mooney is Ryan Tubridy, who has for a long time been identified as a quintessentially Radio One presenter in abstentia. The Late Late Show host began his on-air career with Radio One, but was controversially moved to 2fm to fill the gap created by the tragic death of Gerry Ryan. Many in RTÉ have felt that Radio One would be his natural home – and hence speculation has intensified that this might be the opportunity to engineer the switch.
However, it is unclear what the powers that be at RTÉ 2fm would make of the move. "In the latest JNLR, Ryan had a really positive listenership bounce,” one insider told Hot Press. “Up to that point, the consensus would have been that a move to Radio One would be exactly what Ryan needed to fulfil his huge radio potential. But now, there is a fear that to move him might just prove to be a setback for 2fm. It is a difficult one.”
Outside names that have been mentioned include Newstalk’s Jonathan Healy and Today FM’s Ian Dempsey, whose relaxed style is also reckoned to suit RTÉ Radio One down to the ground. However, insiders insist that the vacancy is more likely to be filled from the existing RTÉ talent pool, tilting things in favour of the Tubridy option. Interesting times indeed...