*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
A week after Ryan Tubridy announced that he was stepping down as The Late Late Show host, Paddy Power have teamed up with pollsters Bounce Insights to unearth what the Irish public think of the race to replace the long-time presenter.
The poll, which had over 300 participants, revealed that an overall majority of 54 per cent do not care about the next host’s gender. However, 25 per cent stated that they would rather a male presenter with 21 per cent preferring that the next host be female.
Tommy Tiernan proved to be the most popular choice as the next host with 22% of the vote with current bookies favourite Claire Byrne lying in second at 13 per cent. Also among the frontrunners were comedian Dara Ó Briain on 10 per cent, Sarah McInerney at 9 per cent while Brendan O’Connor garnered 8 per cent of the vote.
The trio of Angela Scanlon, Jennifer Zamperelli and Dáithí Ó Sé are inseparable at 7 per cent while Dave Fanning at 6 per cent and Katie Hannon at per cent round off those who generated more than 5 per cent of the vote.
Interestingly, More than 2 in 5 (41 per cent) would be in favour of the show being hosted by more than one person, with only 22 per cent being against breaking the tradition of the flagship show having one anchor.
A blow was landed for the likes of Gary Lineker and Piers Morgan who have attracted interest in the betting with 60 per cent of viewers preferring that the chosen presenter be from these shores.
The ability to listen is the most important skill for any new host to possess according to 26 per cent of those polled with Charisma (18 per cent), Humour (17 per cent) and Empathy 14 (per cent) also considered as key attributes in the eyes of the public.
Finally, while the show still has some detractors it remains hugely popular with the vast majority of the viewing public with only 17 per cent giving it two stars or less out of five when asked by Paddy Power.
Meanwhile, Claire Byrne is now the overwhelming favourite with the bookies to replace Tubridy next season with Sarah McInerney and Angela Scanlon considered her biggest rivals. Tommy Tiernan lies fourth in the betting with Katie Hannon just behind him.
Rachael Kane, a spokesperson for Paddy Power, said: “Fair to say that our poll threw up some surprises that we didn’t expect. As it stands Tommy Tiernan certainly appears to be the people’s choice but Claire Byrne is also very popular.
“It’s all been one way traffic the last couple of days with our customers weighing in behind Byrne, but we’ve already had plenty of twists and turns after only a week and I’m sure we can expect a few more.”
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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