Miriam: Leo came out to me...but I’ll still grill him
LEO Varadkar may have chosen to come out on Miriam O’Callaghan’s RTÉ Radio 1 show – but she insists she’ll still grill him in her Prime Time studio.
It was a watershed moment in Irish politics when the former minister for health spoke publicly about being gay for the first time on the Sunday With Miriam radio show in January 2015.
But the mother of eight said it won’t affect her questioning of the now Taoiseach when she faces him on the current affairs show Prime Time.
She said: ‘When push comes to shove, it won’t make any difference to me giving him a tough time. With Prime Time, you can’t have opinions on any politicians because you’ve to be completely impartial and I completely accept that; it’s important. I am non-political, always have been, so you give everyone in power a rigorous interview.’
She added: ‘That’s two years ago now, my interview with Leo, and obviously it was a huge moment at the time, when he did go public to say he was gay. It’s a pity in a way that people have to do that.
‘I think by doing that and putting it to bed, it became a non-story during the race for taoiseach – and that’s the way it should be.’
Ms O’Callaghan, 57, was speaking to the Irish Daily Mail ahead of her return to her summer TV chat show, Saturday Night With Miriam on RTÉ One, airing tonight at 9.25pm. She’ll be joined on the couch by comedian John Bishop, soccer legend John Giles and Red Rock actress Denise McCormack.
Ms O’Callaghan also revealed she’s happy to be working on some light entertainment, following what she described as a ‘tough’ year covering a number of tragic stories on Prime Time.
‘One good thing about this is that it’s light and fun,’ she said.