RTÉ’s flagship chat show has taken some flak for the number of times guests don’t appear live on a Friday night.
Both Gay Byrne and Pat Kenny have said that they never liked doing pre-recorded interviews on The Late Late Show, after both Michael Bublé and Graham Norton did not appear live on Friday night’s show.
Current host Ryan Tubridy filmed interviews with both Norton – promoting his first novel, Holding – and singer Bublé which went out ‘as live’. Pre-recorded interviews are becoming more and more of a theme on The Late Late Show, with high profile guests not always available on a Friday night in Dublin.
Byrne, who hosted the show for 37 years between 1962 and 1999, told the Irish Mirror: “I tried pre-records myself and I found them unsatisfactory. In the course of my 40 years I remember doing it three times and I just found it very unsatisfactory because the 200 people in the studio audience are sitting there looking at a television screen.
“They realise they might as well be at home and get unhappy. I think if Graham Norton or Michael Buble are on the show, they want them there with them and Ryan – not pre-recorded.”
Byrne did add that he could understand why Tubridy would pre-record interviews with certain celebrities.
“I completely understand it though if they really want to have them on the show and they aren’t available to come live. People at home don’t know any different unless they’re told otherwise.” he said.
Pat Kenny, who hosted the show between 1999 and 2009, agreed that the format is not ideal.
“First of all I never liked (pre-recorded interviews). We did possibly two or three in my ten years,” he said.
“There was less than you could count on one hand. It was usually when there was an unavailability – either you prerecord them or you don’t get them. That was the only reason.
“Graham (Norton) has his own show of course so he’s not as free as he would like to be to promote his new book.”
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