Laura Woods: Ivan Yates a tough act to follow

Ivan Yates’s TV3 colleague Laura Woods does not know who will replace him when he departs the station next month.

“He’s leaving in three weeks and I haven’t been told yet who the replacement is so I’m not sure — are they going to bring someone in immediately or are they going to wait until the end of the summer?

“Talks are ongoing at the moment between head of daytime and the other bosses in TV3,” his co-presenter Woods said yesterday.

Last April Yates announced his departure from his various media roles, TV3’s Sunday AM, Newstalk Breakfast, and his newspaper column.

“Whoever comes in will have a lot to live up to because Ivan has that wonderful ability to be completely disarming, completely mischievous, and a bit of a rogue at the same time and yet he’s very warm, he’s very friendly, and he’s very kind.

“Whoever comes in I imagine will have their work cut out for them in terms of being as well-informed and as passionate about politics, current affairs, and the economic situation as he is, this is Ivan’s hobby. He would read mountains of material before an interview, he’s always so researched,” Woods told the Irish Examiner yesterday.

“Ivan would have The X Factor in terms of charisma. He’s a charismatic guy and people like him when they meet him so I’m really looking forward to seeing who his replacement will be.”

The TV presenter was speaking ahead of participating in this weekend’s Hell & Back challenge, Ireland’s toughest endurance race, supported by Buplex,

“It’s always hard to find the time [to train with two kids and a full-time job]. Some things have to give.

“I read a really interesting quote recently from JK Rowling saying that when she was writing Harry Potter, her house just went to bits for the guts of two years because she just couldn’t do everything and tick every box,” she said.