Ryan Confidential

Ryan Confidential is an Irish home-produced[1] television programme which was broadcast on RTÉ One until 2010. It was presented by Gerry Ryan,[2] until his unexpected death at the age of 53 on 30 April 2010. The programme was created by the producer David Blake Knox.

Ryan Confidential
Created byDavid Blake Knox
StarringGerry Ryan
Country of originIreland
No. of episodes25+
Production
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkRTÉ One
Original release2004 –
2010

The format placed Ryan and celebrity guests in restaurants and hotels, designed to provide a more intimate setting than a studio. Ryan then interviewed his guests.[3] The programme, commissioned by RTÉ's Entertainment Department,[4] proved popular, and ran for eight seasons.

History

Guests on Ryan Confidential included Ben Dunne who spoke of feeling like a "bloody eejit" for provoking the set up of the Tribunals,[5] Colin Farrell whose use of "salty language" prompted a large number of complaints despite an on-screen warning about the show's content [6] and Brian O'Driscoll who appeared replete with "interesting haircut" before an important Celtic League match for Leinster.[7] The Irish Times critic, Shane Hegarty, said of an early interview with multimillionaire step dancer Michael Flatley: ``Gerry Ryan returned to the television screens again this week. He has a habit of doing that, like a fly you thought you'd chased from the room.`` [8] Ryan alluded to the upset this remark caused him in a special Ryan Tubridy Confidential, aired on 16 October 2008 to coincide with the release of the presenter's autobiography, in which the tables were turned on the regular interviewer as he was asked questions by his protegé Ryan Tubridy. Tubridy was selected after RTÉ expressed their dissatisfaction at Ryan's original plan - to interview himself.[9]

The eighth and final series featured interviews with Conan O'Brien, Roger Moore and, Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.[10] The Hefner and O'Brien interviews were recorded in Los Angeles.[11] In a rare interview O'Brien said he was more comfortable with Ireland than the pressures of American television.[11]

Ryan's interview with Heather Mills from the eighth series was first broadcast the night before his death.[11] A re-edited and extended version of the 2008 episode, in which Ryan was interviewed by Ryan Tubridy, was aired after the presenter's death. It drew an audience share of 40.5 per cent, and 565,000 viewers - the highest ratings for any episode of Ryan Confidential.[12] The final Ryan Confidential filmed before the presenter's death, the George Hook episode, aired on 20 May 2010. It was viewed by more than 400,000 viewers. Hook later described Gerry Ryan as "a superb interviewer".[13]

Guest list

This is an incomplete and incomprehensive list of guests who have featured on Ryan Confidential.[14]

Series 3

Guests
Terry Wogan
Ronan Keating
Tim Collins
Bob Geldof
Nell McCafferty
Paul Williams
Jack Charlton

Series 4

Guests
Brian O'Driscoll
Max Clifford
Tatiana Ouliankina
Keith Barry

Series 5

Guests
Westlife
Brian McFadden
Bernie Nolan
Leslie Grantham
Father Brian D'Arcy
Larry Gogan
Latif Yahia

Series 6

DateGuests
4 September 2008Marco Pierre White
Gordon Ramsay
11 September 2008Meat Loaf
18 September 2008Jeffrey Archer
25 September 2008Colm Meaney
2 October 2008Angie Best
9 October 2008Boyzone
16 October 2008Gerry Ryan 1
23 October 2008Cliff Richard

1. Gerry Ryan was interviewed by Ryan Tubridy on this very special occasion to promote his newly released autobiography.

Specials

A Ryan Confidential Special, in tribute to Joe Dolan, a past guest on the show who had died, was screened on RTÉ One on 24 March 2008 at 18:30.

Ronnie Drew: A Ryan Confidential Special aired on 1 January 2009 on RTÉ One at 18:30.

gollark: In a way which would affect their ability to do these jobs, or what?
gollark: Lack of past experience?
gollark: ... some kind of discrimination?
gollark: Weird credentialism?
gollark: I don't really like the current world in some ways either, but I think markets are generally a fairly okay system if managed in some ways.

References
  1. "RTE v the Independents". Irish Independent. 7 February 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  2. "Gerry keeps face after break-up". Irish Independent. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  3. "Ryan lines up €3m pay day". Irish Independent. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  4. "Ryan's private savings". The Sunday Business Post. 9 May 2004. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  5. "Dunne opens up about Haughey 'flaws'". Irish Independent. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  6. "TV and the Curse of The F-Word". Irish Independent. 5 January 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  7. "Provinces look to cement pre-eminence in Magners". Irish Independent. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  8. "Bumper season for documentaries but drama sadly lacking". Irish Independent. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  9. "Ideal interviewer? Why, me, of course". Irish Independent. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  10. "Gerry Ryan set for the Playboy Mansion?". RTÉ. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  11. Jennifer Hough (1 May 2010). "The shock-jock who became the housewives' champion". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  12. Glittens, Geraldine (17 May 2010). "Half a million tune in to see Gerry tribute". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  13. Dillon, Fiona (8 May 2010). "Colm and Lucy take over Gerry's 2fm slot". Evening Herald. Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  14. Ryan Confidential archive Archived 4 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine. RTÉ.

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