Former Late Late Show host Pat Kenny has opened up about how he missed his children growing up while hosting the Late Late Show - as he hopes Ryan Tubridy does something he loves after stepping back from the show.
The Newstalk star hosted the Friday night chat show on RTE for 10 years from 1999 until 2009 after taking over from Gay Byrne.
But Pat admitted that although he was at the helm of the country’s biggest show, his stardom came with a price as he missed spending many weekends with his two daughters, Kristina and Nicole, when they were kids.
He said: "Obviously I wasn’t around at times when maybe I should’ve been around. I mean who gets up early for the swimming lesson on Saturday morning when I’ve done The Late Late Show the night before? Kathy unfortunately most of the time.
"I used to surface and go down to the local pool with coffee for her, but she would be the one getting up early to bring them."
But the Dubliner said he has no regrets and that his daughters enjoyed some of the perks of his job - but he was "relieved" when he finished hosting the show.
"But then there were perks. I mean the girls used to come in and meet some of the stars on the show.
"I’ve a picture of the girls with Niall Horan as a child. It’s a mixed blessing. But I didn’t regret a moment of my time there but equally when I moved on to something else, I was also quite relieved. I was getting my weekends back.. all that sort of thing."
Pat stressed that he hopes Ryan will do something "he loves" after he steps away from the show on May 26.
"And after more than 30 shows of the year, it is pretty exhausting.
"Throughout his career you can do lots of different things and I hope Ryan finds something he really, really enjoys because the Late Late Show is all consuming. It’s a big beast. It’s not just about presenting items," he explained.
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