RTE’s Stephen Byrne said he was happy to "fall into" his 30s during the pandemic - admitting he was ready to leave his twenties behind.
The Dubliner has been a regular on Irish screens and airwaves since 2008, after bagging a job at the national broadcaster at the tender age of 17.
But having spent the best part of the last decade on the move, travelling the world to interview Hollywood’s biggest stars at some of the world’s most star-studded red carpets and events, he admitted he was happy to slip into a new decade of life a little more low key.
The 2FM host told the Irish Daily Mirror: “I turned 30 in the first few months of the first lockdown so I was feeling all the things that you would feel as I was approaching that.
“Like, ‘ah God, what does this mean’ and I was happy that it happened during the lockdown actually, because I didn’t want a party or that big moment.
“I think it would have given me a bit more fear.
“I definitely enjoyed falling into my 30s and really looking back and going ‘yeah, the 20s were great craic, let's start another 10 years.”
“But I was ready,” he added.
“The twenties for me, there were many great years and I did a lot of amazing things.
“And you don’t really take stock of that stuff until you get to milestones and I definitely was ready to move forward.
“And also, I would not want to be 20 again. I had my time, I enjoyed it, but I would not want to be going back to the things we made dramatic back then that just aren’t dramatic.”
The star revealed he was in shock when his mum got a notification earlier this week to mark 13 years to the day that he first graced TV screens as a fresh-faced teen.
Joking that he forgot he was just a child when he started off his career on screen, he admitted he feels fortunate to have been able to maintain a career in such a competitive field.
“I feel very fortunate because it's not the easiest career to maintain a place in, so I feel lucky in that sense but it is mad to look back on and I think we have all looked back a lot in the past year.
“I think we have all got a bit nostalgic about it.”
Stephen was speaking at the announcement that Three Ireland is introducing a new connected lifestyle experience to 60 stores nationwide.
The new stores will offer consumers a completely new and dynamic shopping experience to suit their individual lifestyle preferences, featuring a new range of products encompassing Work, Play, Home and Music themes.
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