Miriam makes history on Late Late
IT WAS a bittersweet moment for presenter Miriam O’Callaghan as she made Irish television history by being the first woman to host The Late Late Show.
Ms O’Callaghan stepped into the broadcasting breach last night for the chat show’s host Ryan Tubridy who, after developing a persistent cough in the last few days, adhered to best practice and is ‘self-isolating’.
The seasoned RTÉ star took her seat in the nation’s longest-running chat show in true showbusiness style saying: ‘The show must go on.’
‘I’m delighted to be able to step in tonight and present the Late Late Show,’ she added. ‘We have to keep the show on the road. Best wishes to Ryan.’
Ms O’Callaghan, who turned 60 this year, has been at RTÉ since the 1990s and has long been mooted as the natural successor to front the show.
However, just last November, she stated she had no desire to give up her current affairs shows and turn chat show hostess.
‘I’m happy to put this on the record, I never want to present the Late Late Show. I’m not afraid of live TV,’ she said. ‘I’m a current affairs junkie. It’s what I do for a living. They are my DNA and I love to do lighter stuff and I think I can do lighter stuff but I will never give up current affairs.’
However, the increasing onslaught of the Covid-19 has utterly altered Irish life and Ms O’Callaghan answered RTE’s chat show call.
Mr Tubridy was sure to have tuned in to catch Ms O’Callaghan’s debut from his Monkstown bachelor pad, a few miles from Montrose studios.
Last night the mother of eight led the nation in a collective round-of applause to pay tribute to the men and women of Ireland’s front-line services who have been leading the fight to slow down and treat the spread of coronavirus.