Miriam O'Callaghan rules out bid for Late Late Show vacancy

Fiachra Gallagher

Miriam O'Callaghan will not be the next host of RTÉ's Late Late Show, the Prime Time presenter said on Tuesday.

Last week, Ryan Tubridy said that he was stepping away from the programme after 14 years of hosting.

In a Twitter post, Ms O'Callaghan described the long-running talk show as "the jewel in the crown of Irish broadcasting", but said that she enjoys her current gig on Prime Time "too much" to leave it.

A little news - just to stop all the questions, including from my wonderful Mum 🥰 pic.twitter.com/9nTp5A5baW

— Miriam O'Callaghan (@MiriamOCal) March 21, 2023

She said that speculation about her taking the Late Late Show hotseat was "very flattering".

Claire Byrne is now the clear favourite to replace Tubridy as Late Late Show host after early favourite, Miriam O’Callaghan, ruled herself out of the running today.

O’Callaghan had started as the 4/6 favourite in the betting but slid down the order over the last couple of days as punters continued to back Byrne and Sarah McInerney for the role.

Laois native Byrne, kicked off a 6/1 shot in the betting before becoming the 6/4 favourite yesterday on the foot of strong support. O’Callaghan’s withdrawal has seen her odds cut once again with her now a 6/5 shot to land the biggest role in Irish showbiz.

Meanwhile, Sarah McInerney’s odds have continued to tumble with the Drivetime host now available at 10/3 having been a 20/1 shot initially

Elsewhere, outsider Piers Morgan has seen his odds cut today from 250/1 to 100/1 after attracting a string of small bets while Roy Keane has gone from 500/1 to 250/1.