RTÉ star out until autumn

RTÉ’s John Murray will not be returning to the station until at least the autumn but bosses insist he is recovering from the illness which kept him off air for the past eight weeks.

The Radio One presenter took sick leave at the end of April and, despite his hopes of a return to work within weeks, his place has been taken by Miriam O’Callaghan since.

Prime Time regular Miriam told listeners yesterday morning she was “privileged” to be filling in for John. “I’ll continue to do so until later on in the year.”

She continued: “John is absent, as many of you probably already know, for health reasons and he’s asked us to specially thank all our listeners for the good wishes and cards that have been sent to him. He really appreciates them.

“We all wish him a really speedy recovery and we are looking forward to welcoming him back to work.”

An RTÉ spokeswoman said “later on” meant “at least until the autumn”. She added: “He is making a recovery at home and we’re looking forward to welcoming him back to work before the end of the year.”

She also said the public response to John’s absence had been “phenomenal”.

“He has a lot of cards and emails coming in and we are sending it all out to his house. He really appreciates such loyal listeners.”

John, a father of two who took over the 9am slot from Ryan Tubridy almost three years ago, has not made public the nature of his illness but, aged just 49, his bosses at the station are expecting a lot more air time from him.

His absence has led to some shuffling of seats around the station but the spokeswoman said there would be no impact on Ms O’Callaghan’s weekly summer television show, Saturday Night with Miriam, which begins its two-and-a-half-month-long run this weekend.

Miriam will be taking a two-week holiday from her radio slot during the summer, as John Murray would normally do. RTÉ’s Kathryn Thomas, Brendan Courtney, and comedian Neil Delamere have all filled in for John before and are likely replacements during that period.