The allegations against an unnamed BBC presenter are the real scandal compared to recent controversies in RTÉ.
That’s according to Newstalk Breakfast host Ciara Kelly, who said the accusations against the BBC presenter are far more severe than those against former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy.
“What Ryan Tubridy is being accused of, being pilloried for, when you compare it to what’s going on across the water, it’s the Ha’penny Place,” she said.
"But [Mr Tubridy] is paying a very high price for it."
An unnamed BBC presenter now has three allegations of misconduct against him. He was first accused of paying a teenager money in exchange for explicit images.
The presenter has now also been accused of pressuring someone on a dating app to meet him in person and sent “a number of threatening messages” after the person said they would name him publicly online.
Another person has accused the presenter of breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules in 2021 when they met in person after texting on a dating app.
Ryan Tubridy arriving at the Dail (Leinster House) with his agent Noel Kelly to giving evidence at two committee hearings regarding his pay from RTÉ, 11/07/2023. Image: RollingNews.ieCiara said she thought Mr Tubridy appeared “fatigued” at yesterday’s Oireachtas Committee hearings – but he will find a place in Irish media again.
“I don’t know if he’s done enough to get back into [RTÉ],” she said. “But he's done enough to come back into public life.
“I think the difficulty that remains... is that very few people in [the hearing] believed everything they were being told.”
She said the questioning became quite “scrappy” by the end, particularly at the Oireachtas Media Committee.
'We've had our fun'
Newstalk Breakfast host Shane Coleman agreed the BBC scandal is a “proper scandal” and said it was time to return to “actual affairs of the nation” in Ireland.
“We’re now three weeks into this story tomorrow,” he said. “It’s time to move on.
“We’ve had our ‘fun’... we’ve had our day in court.
“The committees need to do [their] job, Kevin Bakhurst needs to his job – but for the rest of us, maybe it's time to get back to a bit of normality.”
