Gareth O'Callaghan: Bakhurst has proven no brand is bigger than RTÉ

From what I understand, Kevin Bakhurst (pictured) wanted Tubridy back on air. So did tens of thousands of his listeners who genuinely miss his daily presence in their lives. But then, it all went horribly wrong. File photo: Niall Carson/PA

When you consider the hero's send-off that he received at the end of his final Late Late Show last May, Ryan Tubridy must be waking up this morning in shock — wondering how it all could go so horribly wrong in the space of what must feel like a few hours.

That's if he has been able to sleep at all since Thursday, when RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst called him to inform him that discussions aimed at reinstating him to his Radio 1 morning show would no longer be taking place.

As I write this, I am on the train between Cork and Dublin. Like many others, I can't help wondering what must be going through Tubridy's mind. Bakhurst described the presenter's reaction to their brief conversation on Thursday as "shocked and disappointed". I imagine that's bordering on the understated. He must be utterly sick and devastated.

I feel sorry for Ryan Tubridy, and that's not an expression I use lightly. I genuinely do. I have known him for many years, and during a particularly difficult time in my life five years ago, he interviewed me on his radio show. 

He asked if it would be okay to pre-record the interview as he felt it might be too emotional to do live. I was grateful he did as it was extremely difficult, and both of us hugged afterwards. I felt nothing but warmth and compassion from him that morning.

Five years later, Ryan Tubridy is facing the reality today that his RTÉ career might be over. I believe in time to come Ryan will look back and realise that the advice he was given ahead of the comments he made on Wednesday evening in the light of Grant Thornton's second report into the RTÉ payments scandal sealed his fate.

Back in June, I publicly stated that Tubridy should have ditched the services of his management team and presented himself alone before both of the Oireachtas committees that grilled him in the company of his agent on a multitude of topics, including the "barter account" payments made indirectly to him through a company in England.

Ryan Tubridy's failure to show even the tiniest smidgen of contrition in his comments this week clearly left Kevin Bakhurst with no choice but to end discussions to give the host back his radio show. File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins

The television audience that day was as big as viewing figures were for the Italia '90 World Cup. I spent the day glued to my laptop watching the painful truth of the 'hush hush' 'tripartite' negotiations as they unfolded; but it almost pales in comparison to this week's most recent events.

Discussions aimed at re-installing Ireland's most famous personality back into his morning radio slot were played out in real time, with emerging details of the conversations between Kevin Bakhurst and Ryan Tubridy eagerly analysed and interpreted across press and social media.

From what I understand, Kevin Bakhurst wanted Tubridy back on air. So did tens of thousands of his listeners who genuinely miss his daily presence in their lives. Last Thursday, Tubridy was poised for a return to his radio show in early September. A salary had even been agreed upon, according to Bakhurst. 

But then, it all went horribly wrong. Grant Thornton's report this week partly redeemed Tubridy somewhat by finding that his "actual income from RTÉ for 2020 and 2021 matches what was originally published as my earnings for those years," as the presenter stated last Wednesday. 

But, he failed to mention the elephant in the room — namely the "barter account" payments which have always been central to the whole scandal. By not doing so, the broadcaster sealed his fate.

Ryan Tubridy's failure to show even the tiniest smidgen of contrition in his comments this week clearly left Kevin Bakhurst with no choice but to end discussions to give the host back his radio show.

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By doing so, the new director general is sending out a very clear and deliberate message that none of his predecessors would ever have dared to entertain: As the station's premier presenter you might be a very big brand, but you will never be as big as the real brand; and in this case the real brand is RTÉ.

I have no doubt that Ryan Tubridy will find employment elsewhere if he can't find a way back to RTÉ, but it looks now as though his halcyon days of fame and fortune are finally over. Even if his career has just been halted, it's not a business model that you want to be away from for too long. Time moves on, and people forget — especially when questions they are entitled to ask of you go unanswered.

I'm reminded of an old Irish phrase, "Say nothing, pretend it never happened, and it will all just go away." It's quite clear from this week's events that on Kevin Bakhurst's watch, nothing will ever "just go away" again.