Miriam’s squabble with the Late Late over Katie Taylor
Gloves off over battle to tie up an interview with boxer
THE tug of war isn’t an Olympic sport but gold medal winner Katie Taylor has found herself in the middle of one involving two rival RTÉ chat shows
The Late Late Show, is it claimed, snatched a coveted interview with the boxing champion from Miriam O’Callaghan’s Saturday night gabfest.
And now the gloves are off between the two talk shows with Montrose sources saying that ‘certain people are not happy’ that the marquee interview ended up in Ryan Tubridy’s corner.
It is believed that Saturday Night with Miriam had been the first in line to land the coup of Katie.
The slot had been booked months ago, according to a source close to the show, before her Olympic Games’ triumph in London. Staff at the popular RTÉ One show had been excited at the prospect of watching the Bray boxer finish the summer show’s season with a ratings knockout.
However, the source has told how despite knowing that Miss O’Callaghan’s people had already arranged the interview in advance, the Late Late Show managed to tie up the chat with Katie.
‘People can make their own minds up about this – the show had the interview booked months and months ago,’ the source said.
‘Everyone was looking forward to seeing Katie on the show and it would have been a great way to see the season out but all of a sudden the Late Late Show has the interview.
‘Saturday Night with Miriam got the call and was told on that day that Katie wasn’t coming, that she was doing the Late Late with Ryan Tubridy.’
And it seems that after what could have been the most Machiavellian of broadcasting moves in some time, there are more than a few ruffled feathers in Montrose.
‘People were not happy; certain people were really annoyed when the call came in. This is not the usual in broadcasting, not in RTÉ – this is very out of the ordinary, something no one on the Miriam show had seen before and they just couldn’t understand what had happened,’ the source said.
Now 26-year-old Katie is set to take to the Late Late stage on the opening show on Friday, September 7 alongside silver medal-winning boxer, John Joe Nevin, bronze medallists, Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan along with boxing team captain Darren O’Neill.
Irish Amateur Boxing Association president Tommy Murphy, said: ‘It is great news that Katie is going to be on the Late Late with the boys. It will be great entertainment.’
And Mr Murphy knows better than anyone how much of a star attraction Katie is, in particular, and how all the attention is long deserved.
He said: ‘ Everyone wants to talk to Katie – it’s all about Katie now. But the boys aren’t jealous. They are all a team, they’re all friends and they aren’t jealous of the attention Katie is getting.
‘She sparred with those boys. Katie is great and they know it along with the rest of the country – but it’s a shame that when she was winning every championship as Ireland’s most impressive athlete, she wasn’t noticed too much.
‘It’s only now she has t he medal t hat she’s really being recognised for how truly great she is. And Katie deserves every last bit of the attention because she is not only a great boxer – she’s a great person.’ An RTÉ spokesman said: ‘We do not discuss editorial decisions made by production teams on either show.’ Miss O’Callaghan may have missed out on the chance to share the stage with Katie – but the chat show queen will be making up for it when she interviews Enda Kenny as part of The Gathering on Friday.
The show, which will be broadcast on RTÉ One TV, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra and on the state broadcaster’s YouTube channel, is a welcome home broadcast for the Notre Dame American football team.
The concert will be one of the highlights of the US college football weekend being held in Ireland. The following day sees the Aviva Stadium play host to The Emerald Isle Classic – Notre Dame Vs US Naval Academy. The 90-minute concert will combine elements of a traditional Notre Dame pep rally with performances by a host of Ireland’s top entertainers i ncluding Brian Kennedy, Damien Dempsey, Eimear Quinn and The High Kings. The Taoiseach will welcome American travelling fans – estimated to be in the region of 35,000 – as well as launching The Gathering Ireland 2013; a year-long initiative showcasing all that is great about Ireland and encouraging people worldwide to visit.