Gay Byrne admits family have blocked RTE return

Gay Byrne has confirmed that a return to the airwaves is not on the horizon despite interest from former employer RTÉ, revealing to the Sunday Independent's Life magazine that his family have told him he is "not up to it at the moment" after recently receiving treatment for prostate cancer.

'Gaybo' hasn't been live on air since early 2017, months after he admitted on his show on RTÉ Lyric FM that he had been diagnosed with the disease and was due to begin treatment for it. The broadcasting legend told the publication that though there is mutual interest in his return from both the station and himself, his wife and daughters have placed a caring but firm veto on it.

"What we are having a row about at the moment is that RTÉ want me back on the air in January for my little Sunday afternoon programme and I won't be let go," the 84-year old said. “They just say I’m not up to it at the moment, and I suspect they may be partly right, but nonetheless I greatly regret that I can’t do it.”

"It was my little outlet, that’s all. It was unimportant," he said of his show, The Sunday With Gay Byrne, which featured discussion as well as an emphasis on swing and traditional jazz music. "It was only a Mickey Mouse radio programme but it was an appreciative listenership."

Byrne admitted it was "very hard to accept" his illness after so many years of good health, claiming he had "never took a tablet of any kind". Though encouragingly he confirmed that despite this he is now managing the disease.