Travelling Light
She was the face of No Frontiers for a decade but when that show ended Kathryn Thomas had to reinvent herself. So she put away her rucksack and took a job presenting Winning Streak. Then Gerry Ryan passed away and she found herself stepping into his shoes on Operation Transformation. In a revealing interview she discusses her ‘rivalry’ with Grainne Seoige over hosting The Voice, losing her virginity at 17 – and why RTE needed to stop paying its stars so much.
Olaf Tyaransen, 21 Mar 2012
Would you ever be interested in presenting The Late Late Show or something like that?
“No” is the answer to that, right now. I don’t think the pinnacle of a TV career is a chat show. I’d love to do more human interest stuff. I haven’t had a plan as such since No Frontiers started. You live for the moment and try and do the best job that you can in the moment. I don’t know where I’m going to be next year, I don’t have an ambition to live my life by doing this, this and this. I often think I should. Television has been good to me and I’d like to stay in it.
There’s been a lot of criticism over some of the salaries paid in RTÉ. Do you think it’s justified?
Yes. I think a lot of the salaries that were paid out were unjustifiable. Salaries that you couldn’t stand over. They were what was offered at the time. I’m not saying that if I was ever offered a salary like that at the time and someone said, “Here you go, sign on the dotted line”... I would have been the first one grabbing the pen and signing. That was what was on the table. I do think they have been reduced, and rightly so. I think it’s more transparent now. Whether it’s big salaries or not, I think people should be paid accordingly for what they do and for what they bring in – advertising revenue, ratings, years of service, all of that has to be taken into account, absolutely. But there definitely were salaries that were inexcusable.
What was the most embarrassing moment of your life?
There’s been a few… (laughs).
Wasn’t there a story about you sunbathing topless on a beach when some No Frontiers fans came over to say “hello”…
Oh yeah, that wouldn’t have been one of my finer moments. I suppose like a lot of Irish people, doing stupid stuff when you’ve had one too many to drink. I think I’m Beyoncé or Jennifer Lopez when I’m out on the dancefloor. I can actually see some people in a nightclub looking out of the corner of their eye going, “Jaysus!” The usual capital ‘F’ for fear waking up once a month going, “Oh god… was I over the top last night?” But sure, it’s good innocent fun. Actually, did you hear what I did at the IFTAs the other night? Are you a fan of Alabama 3? You’re probably friends with them...
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Olaf Tyaransen
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