Tubridy first broadcast for BBC radio will be on July 23rd

RYAN TUBRIDY is to join the BBC during the summer to replace fellow Irishman Graham Norton on Radio 2, the broadcaster has confirmed. His first broadcast will be on Saturday, July 23rd. The move is for eight weeks from the end of July to September.

Tubridy will broadcast in the Saturday 10am to 1pm slot once occupied by Jonathan Ross.

The move has been well flagged in advance with Tubridy keen to stress that it is for a "brief tenure" only and that he will be returning to his 2fm show and the Late Late Showin the autumn. He described his forthcoming slot as a "bit of an adventure".

However, it is likely to fuel speculation that he will make a permanent move if his stint at the BBC goes well. Along with having a bigger audience, Tubridy may be hankering for a move from the goldfish bowl of Irish public life.

Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly said the Late Late Showpresenter had been approached by the BBC last year but was unable to go because he was preparing for a new show after the death of Gerry Ryan. He was also writing his book on the Kennedy visit to Ireland.

Tubridy will be presenting the BBC show during six weeks of summer break from RTÉ.

Tubridy took over Ryan’s radio slot in September and has struggled to retain the huge audience he had. The latest JNLR figures show he has 202,000 listeners, down 14,000.

BBC Radio 2 head of programmes Lewis Carnie said he was delighted to “persuade another of Ireland’s biggest stars to work his magic on Radio 2”.