RTÉ One current affairs show Claire Byrne Live is to end after seven years on air. The broadcaster said Monday night’s edition would be the final episode of the series and that it is “currently developing ideas” for a new programme to replace it.
Ms Byrne said she had decided to concentrate on her midmorning Radio 1 radio show, Today with Claire Byrne, but looked forward to returning to the television schedules “in time”.
Her television programme first went on air in January 2015, with its first episode featuring a debate about the then forthcoming same-sex marriage referendum and a pre-recorded interview with actor Colin Farrell.
Younger audience
The series, which was billed as an attempt to bring in a younger audience to RTÉ television’s current affairs line-up, prided itself on a fast-paced line-up of items, viewer polls and quirky studio segments.
Like its predecessor in the Monday night slot, The Frontline, it was filmed in front of a studio audience, although Ms Byrne notoriously broadcast from her shed in 2020 after contracting Covid in the early weeks of the pandemic.
“When we started Claire Byrne Live in 2015, we wanted it to be a forum for people in Ireland to shape the news, respond to unfolding events and most importantly, to have their say. We came through two general elections, two hugely significant referendums and one global pandemic in the time that we have been on air,” said Ms Byrne, who paid tribute to her editors and team.
“I have made the decision now to focus on my radio show and I am very much looking forward, in time, to working on other television projects for RTÉ.”
RTÉ News and current affairs managing director Jon Williams thanked Ms Byrne for “a truly remarkable run”, praising her “extraordinary” interview with the family of Clodagh Hawe, her moderation of leaders’ debates in two general elections and her handling of breaking news throughout the pandemic.
