Was RTÉ’s decision to appoint Ryan Tubridy as presenter of its flagship programme entirely surprising? Tubridy has proven a safe pair of hands in the ratings stakes during his tenure at Tubridy Tonight. This is, afterall, the same route Pat Kenny took almost 10 years ago albeit with a different objective.

Kennys primary task was quite unforgiving: to replace the irreplaceable. His critics have been harsh but the numbers don’t lie. If Kenny is to be judged on this criterion then the ship is steady, if a little bit rusty.

Tubridy’s objective, according to his news interview on the 11th May, is to “bring a 21st Century twist” to the oldest running TV chatshow of all time. However, he hastened to add that he was “not going to tinker with the format too much”.

Which is it going to be Ryan?

Providing the Late Late with a 21st Century makeover is no mean feat. It’s a gradual process. Bending barriers rather than breaking them (just ask Tommy Tiernan’s lynch mob).

With RTÉ currently nearly €70 million shy of advertising revenue targets, a lot is riding on this decision. Even if RTÉ do hit the right tone with the “new” Late Late Show, they’ve surely left a void in their Saturday night schedule. Given that viewing figures for Tubridy Tonight are only 10% below that of the Late Late show and that RTÉ are in the red, it will be interesting to see if Tubridy Tonight will be replaced at all, never mind who could fill Tubridy’s shoes.

Maybe 21st century twists are better suited to Saturday nights.

Who knows how this will all turn out?

We wouldn’t be caught dead watching it…