Take a bow! Four highlights from Ryan Tubridy's last Late Late Show

Well that was a rollercoaster of emotions, wasn’t it? Ryan Tubridy took his final Late Late Show bow and though there were inevitable tears, there were a lot of highlights too.

From numerous reunions that pulled on the heartstrings, to shout-outs from idols and a massive sing-song, the programme had everything to make it a spectacular send-off.

Ryan has already praised his successor Patrick Kielty but he kept tight-lipped about what was in store for his last curtain call that would end his 14-year-long era on the show.

Adding to the mystery was the fact that the host admitted he was kept in the dark about most of the plans making it all the more exciting. So without further ado, here are five highlights from Ryan’s last Late Late Show:

Toy Show kids, U2 and a Vespa: Ryan Tubridy bids an emotional farewell to Late Late

The Toy Show kiddos

Of course, we have to start here as it was the first time we realised we definitely weren’t going to make it through the show without shedding at least a few tears.

It’s clear that Ryan holds a special place in his heart for all the kids that have passed through the studio over the years as he seemed to remember a lot of them by name or by what they did on the programme.

Two very special faces that were there to wish the former chat show host well included Adam King, who went viral after his appearance on the Toy Show in 2020 with his handmade A Hug For You heart, and Saoírse Ruane, who helped to launch the first Toy Show Appeal charity fundraiser and who continues to inspire people around Ireland with her bravery and resilience as she battles cancer for the third time.

Yup, it definitely had us reaching for the tissues and it seems Ryan wasn’t far behind us as he ended up getting choked up on serval occasions.

Macca making a special appearance

Pic: Andres Poveda

It’s a well-known fact that Ryan is a massive fan of the Beatles so we can only imagine how surprised he felt when Paul McCartney himself showed up on screen to wish him well in his next chapter.

The 60s rock and rock superstar was full of jokes, warning Ryan not to follow his dream of playing the guitar (Ed Sheeran won’t be happy about that one.)

Paul left the presenter so stunned that he had to quickly cut to a commercial break to get himself together!

That vespa

Pic: Andres Poveda

Talk about going out in style! Ryan is no doubt more used to being the person who gives out the gifts never the one to receive them so when he was gifted a Vespa from U2 he was clearly over the moon.

It reminds us of when Gay Byrne left the show and he received a Harley Davison except this time it felt more Italian countryside than big scary biker dude.

Thank goodness the experienced motorcyclist PJ Gallagher was there to ride it into the studio for Ryan, we don’t imagine that he has had much experience with something like that just yet.

With him officially off our Friday night screens he’ll have plenty of time to learn.

Family comes first

Safe to say the real tear started at the end of the show when Ryan took a moment to thank his family, especially his two daughters, for all their love and support over the years.

‘My greatest gratitude – I hope you don’t mind me saying that I’m dedicating the show tonight to my family,’ he began.

‘My mother can’t be here tonight because she’s recovering, but I wanna send her all my love. She was here one night in the audience sitting somewhere over there, and Michael Bublé was sitting standing over there – she loves Michael Bublé!’

Continuing the tender moment he added: ‘But especially, obviously my two girls. So, to Ella and to Julia, you know this, I’ve said it so many times, I love you so much they haven’t even created a word for it yet. That’s the truth’

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