Ryan Tubridy EXITS Virgin Radio to host new YouTube channel ‘The Late Show’

The former Late Late Show host made the shock announcement today, revealing that he has hosted his 'final show on Virgin Radio ever'.

The Late Show with Ryan Tubridy will be a News Broadcasting production, whose parent company, News UK, also owns Virgin Radio UK.

A statement on News UK's website reads:

"After two successful years as weekday mid-morning host at music stations Virgin Radio UK and Dublin’s Q102, 2026 will see Ryan Tubridy embark on a raft of new opportunities across News Broadcasting - including new standalone YouTube projects alongside working with Times Radio, talkSPORT and Onic.

"Returning to his speech radio roots, the first fruits of the partnership will be The Late Show with Ryan Tubridy, a new standalone YouTube channel looking back on the lives of the biggest stars in film, music, sport and television, where Ryan chats with the journalists, authors and experts who knew them best."

The Late Show with Ryan Tubridy will also be broadcast on Times Radio, in a bid to optimise its reach.

On top of this, Tubridy will be contributing further to Times Radio in the coming months and is also developing a new show for talkSPORT.

News UK added: "Ryan will also host a new and improved weekend show across the Onic network in Ireland to include Dublin’s Q102, Cork’s 96FM, Limerick’s Live 95 and LMFM across Louth and Meath.

"Onic is a new force in Irish media, building on a brilliant heritage, fuelling a much-loved roster of local radio stations across Ireland while creating an exciting new destination for the best digital audio content."

Tubridy's final show on Virgin Radio UK and Dublin’s Q102 took place today (Friday, 19 December).

“I am extremely excited about today’s news and the opportunity to work again in the world of speech radio, with YouTube channels and with the Onic network in Ireland," the former Late Late host said in a statement.

"As we saw earlier this week with the Oscars Ceremony moving to YouTube, the media world is changing so fast, and this is an opportunity to do what I do best with the best content creators in the world.

“It is with great gratitude that I finish my two years at Virgin Radio UK, where I had the time of my life with the greatest bunch of people.

"They made me feel welcome and valued, which I will never forget, but I can’t wait to get started on these shows. Here’s to 2026!”

Derek Brown, Director of Digital for News Broadcasting, said about the news: “I’ve always thought there’s a huge gap on YouTube for shows that celebrate the lives of the biggest and most well-known names on the planet, and Ryan is the perfect host to present the lives of those people in an in-depth and complete way, chatting to the people who wrote about them.

"Our archive at News UK is a treasure trove of history on those names and this gives us a great opportunity to present it to a new audience.”