Late Show. Christmas shows In 2006, Tubridy began travelling beyond The Pale to host his annual special Christmas show. Critique A poll found that, within five months of Tubridy Tonight going on air, 38 per cent of adults preferred Tubridy on television, compared with 40 per cent opting for his main rival, Pat Kenny, with whom the show competed for guests. Tubridy Tonight and its host also won praise from the former host of The Late Late Show, Gay Byrne. This led to some ponderings as to why Tubridy was left with substandard "dull" guests that did not befit his talent. Some guests opted to be interviewed by Tubridy instead of by Kenny on The Late Late Show. Competition between the two shows was analogous to similar competition in a previous decade between Byrne and Kenny. A 2008 survey by The Times concluded that almost of guests on RTÉ chat shows including Tubridy Tonight were RTÉ employees and associates. The survey did not include musical acts. Online on RTE Player in 2022 for 60 Years of television. Footnotes References External links Tubridy Tonight RTÉ.ie Pugwash perform "Tinsel and Marzipan" on Tubridy Tonight on YouTube Early review of Tubridy Tonight interview with Miriam Ahern Irish Independent – 20 November 2004 2004 Irish television series debuts 2009 Irish television series endings Irish television talk shows RTÉ original programming