RTÉ EMPLOYED the services of a leading firm of accountants to supervise a draw at the TV studios yesterday to determine the order in which presidential candidates will be interviewed by Ryan Tubridy on tonight's Late Late Show.
Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell will be the first to be interviewed.
The running order is as follows: Gay Mitchell; Martin McGuinness; Mary Davis; Dana Rosemary Scallon; Seán Gallagher and Michael D Higgins.
On grounds of “fairness and balance”, Senator David Norris will not be interviewed, because he appeared on the programme two weeks ago, but he will take part in the debate which forms the final segment.
Michael O’Neill represented PricewaterhouseCoopers at the draw.
The show begins at 9.35pm and the initial entertainment section features a performance by pop duo Jedward. The candidate interviews begin at about 10.05pm and the debate will start at about 10.40pm, continuing for at least 50 minutes.
“Viewers have flooded us with questions for the presidential candidates,” Tubridy said. “I hope that at the end of the night, the audience will have gleaned some insight into who their preferred candidate is.”
