Claire Byrne left Radio 1 in October and will start a new show in Newstalk next month
Claire Byrne on the Late Late Show(Image: )
Broadcaster Claire Byrne has spoken candidly about her departure from RTÉ for the first time.
Last summer, it emerged that the popular presenter would be leaving the national broadcaster and her RTÉ Radio 1 programme in October.
Shortly after news of Claire’s exit broke, it was confirmed she would be joining Newstalk.
Throughout her tenure at RTÉ, she fronted numerous programmes spanning television and radio, including News At One and Claire Byrne Live.
She wrapped up Today with Claire Byrne on October 31 and is due to launch her new Newstalk show next month, reports RSVP Live.
Chatting with Patrick Kielty on the Late Late Show on Friday evening, Claire clarified there were no hard feelings surrounding her RTÉ departure.
Claire Byrne joined Patrick Kielty on Friday’s Late Late Show(Image: )
“It wasn’t a sudden thing,” she explained. “I think it was age related. I turned 50 last summer. It does make you think about where you’re going, are you a bit too comfy in your seat?”.
“If you feel that you’re doing something and you’re comfortable, you want to shake it up a bit. So Newstalk came along and they said, ‘we have huge ambitions, we want to grow the audience’. Initially I thought, you know what, I’m grand where I am, thank you very much. Then I thought why am I not going to meet this challenge?”.
“I was very happy here. I have had opportunities here to do great things. However, did I want to try and stretch my chops a bit? Did I want to try and push on and do something different? Yes, I always did, and so ultimately that was the decision I made. I’m excited to get started.”
Claire discussed her feelings about stepping into the shoes of Pat Kenny, who is transitioning to a weekend slot on Newstalk.
“Nerves are good,” she expressed. “Pat is an absolute icon, a legend. We presented together you know, on Primetime. Not many people remember that, myself, Miriam and Pat.”
She admitted: “It is intimidating taking over his slot, but it’ll be a whole new show and I’m really excited to get going.”
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