There has been a great deal of speculation as to who would take over John Murray's slot on RTE Radio 1 after the presenter's show was axed by the station last month, and now it's been made official that Ryan Tubridy has landed the gig.
It was actually Tubridy that John Murray took over from five years ago when The Late Late Show presenter made the move to 2fm, but now he's heading back to his former home.
His 2fm show has been going from strength to strength so RTE are hoping he can help revive the Radio 1 morning slot which has been losing listeners.
This afternoon Ryan said: "It's with mixed emotions that I say goodbye to 2fm and hello again to Radio 1. The last few years have been spent building a loyal and engaged listenership thanks to the hardest working team in Irish radio; I am extremely grateful to them. The recent increase in listener numbers is down to the team and I will miss them as friends and colleagues on 2fm enormously.
He added; "It's an increasingly competitive market, with 9am being the toughest slot of them all, but I'm up for the challenge and look forward to making quality radio for RTÉ Radio 1."
The Managing Director of RTÉ Radio, Jim Jennings said: "With Ryan’s strong performance in today’s radio listening figures, it is fantastic that he is returning to the Radio 1 morning schedule having contributed greatly to the ongoing recovery on 2fm. He will bring his great warmth, intelligence and personality to the station’s offering to its listeners. Ryan’s return to Radio 1 is a strong strategic statement about the Radio 1 schedule and will add to the programmes already delivering great audiences on the station."
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It looks like he won't be replaced over at 2fm either as the station is trying to appeal to a younger demographic, so it's thought that they are planning to extend Breakfast Republic to 10am and then go straight into The Nicky Byrne Show for the new autumn schedule.
The news follow the announcement that Eoghan McDermott will replace Colm Hayes on DriveBy while Colm moves to the weekend breakfast slot, starting from September.
So looks like it's very much out with the semi-old and in with the semi-young over on 2fm.
They will be, eh, 'down with the kids' in no time.
The Ryan Tubridy Show, which begins on Monday September 7, will air between 9 - 10am on weekday mornings.
