Virgin Media star Martin King says he thinks Ryan Tubridy is “bonkers” to be giving up the Late Late Show.
But the popular Ireland AM host says he understands why he is leaving the Friday night chat show after 14 years.
And the Dubliner ruled himself out of the running for the coveted slot – joking that he wouldn’t be able to handle the pay cut.
He told us: “He’s a consummate professional and a lovely guy but I think he is bonkers stepping away from the show but that is his decision.
READ MORE: Martin King opens up about wife Jenny's 'awful' recovery from second brain tumour
“He has given 14 years of his life to it. He’s done so well for so long.”
Martin said he thinks Patrick Kielty would be great for the job if he was offered – saying even Gay Byrne recommended Kielty for the job back in 1999.
“It’s back to the person Gay Byrne recommended back in 1999.
“I remember his chat show on the BBC where he was the only person who could convince Sir Alex Ferguson to come on his chat show. And they started playing Russian Roulette with beer cans, which was hilarious.
“If he brings that kind of energy, it will probably go in a slightly different direction. I like Patrick.
“He’s a nice guy. He would do a super job. Will it be him?”
And Martin admitted he wouldn’t be against a husband and wife duo hosting the show as Cat Deeley is also rumoured to be in the running with hubby Patrick.
“We’re so used to seeing one person. Any TV show I have done, I have always done with a co-host and that has massive advantages.
“Why not? Try something different. I remember the day as a child the Late Late Show was the only thing on the TV on a Saturday night and Gay was the TV God. He said he wanted Saturday’s off, so they moved him to the Friday to keep him sweet, but it was pulling in huge figures week on week because it had no competition.
“So maybe a change of tact. Maybe two people fronting it might attract another audience. I tell you what it could do it might bring in different guests that haven’t been available to the show before.”
Martin was speaking ahead of Virgin Media’s Inside the Hospice, which airs on Virgin Media One at 9pm tonight (MON). VMTV will also be supporting Together for Hospice and their national campaign, Hospice Sunflower Days.
The groundbreaking series deals with death and grief in Ireland through unprecedented access to terminally ill patients on their journey from diagnosis to their final days in hospice care. It dispels the myth of a hospice only being a place to die, as we follow patients who are in their care for respite, symptom control and end of life care, either at home or in a hospice.
Martin knows first hand what a hospice is like and the work the carer does after his sister-in-law Margaret was in Harold’s Cross Hospice after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Martin said: “You’ll need tissues for it but you’ll also smile. You’ll walk away with having a better knowledge of what happens in a hospice not just to the patients but to the family and the support that is given and the care that they are given. I experienced that myself when my sister-in-law was in there.”
To make a donation online to your local hospice by dedicating a sunflower, please go to www.sunflowerdays.ie.
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