Twenty-four per cent of the 387 guests who appeared on programmes in the current season had either worked for RTE, or were promoting other programmes broadcast on the station.

A spokeswoman for RTE said the high number of guests from the station featured on in-house chat shows was because the national broadcaster performs so well. "In addition to interviewing guests from a range of other television and radio channels, the inclusion of guests with an affiliation to RTE reflects the very strong performance of home-produced programmes on RTE and a high level of public interest in these people, " she said.

"Based on the very strong viewing figures for both programmes, it would seem that RTE is satisfying both audiences."

Head of news at TV3 Andrew O'Hanlon said he believes RTE is using its biggest programmes for the purposes of self-promotion. "It's hardly surprising, is it?" he said, "They do have the monopoly on big names, so it makes perfect sense to use their own people to promote their own programmes."

Fifty-six of Pat Kenny's 247 guests on the Late Late Show since last September (excluding musicians) were RTE-related.

These included interviews with six members of the cast of Fair City along with appearances from RTE's crime correspondent, Paul Reynolds and cast members of The Clinic and Vets On Call. Big Bite presenter David McWilliams appeared three times on the latest series of the Late Late Show, which ended on Friday, with a show that included interviews with two RTE employees, Aonghus McAnally and Mary Wilson.

Ryan Tubridy, who, like Pat Kenny, has both a prime-time chat show and a radio programme on RTE, also called in some of the station's cast for Tubridy Tonight. On four different occasions at least three of Tubridy's guests were affiliated with RTE.

This included drafting in the entire panel and contestants of RTE programmes You're A Star and Celebrity Jigs 'N' Reels. A quarter of Tubridy's 103 guests (musicians omitted) were RTE-related. On one show in April, four of the five guests were from RTE . . . Ardal O'Hanlon, promoting his football/travel series Leagues Apart; John Creedon and Pat Shortt, who spoke about their 'Two Boys From Baile' collaboration on Creedon's Radio One show; and Karl Spain, who talked about his production Karl Spain Wants A Woman. Only one guest . . . actor Charles Dance . . . was not employed by the station.

The Podge and Rodge Show had the shortest run of the three chat shows, but the programme, which made its debut this year, had the highest rate of RTE guests.

Ten of Podge and Rodge's 37 guests . . .27% . . . also worked for RTE, including Off The Rails presenters Pamela Flood and Caroline Morahan, Kathryn Thomas (No Frontiers) and radio DJ Gerry Ryan.

The Late Late Show and Tubridy Tonight have enjoyed their most successful series to date. The RTE spokeswoman said "guests for both programmes are selected on the basis that they are of strong current interest and popularity".

I'M WORTH /1.2M A YEAR, SAYS WOGAN Leonie Corcoran

BROADCASTER Terry Wogan has said he doesn't feel the "least bit guilty" about his / 1.2m salary or making more money than anyone else in BBC Radio.

"There's no limit to what radio can pay. . . and if you divide my salary between my eight million listeners, I'm costing tuppence a fortnight, " the Limerick-born broadcaster said this weekend.

Wogan worked as a bank clerk for five years before winning a competition to become a presenter for RTE. He later moved to London and has since achieved cult status on the British airwaves. Now Sir Terence Wogan, he was recently awarded a Sony Gold Award for lifetime achievement and counts the British Queen as "an occasional listener".

He has just started a second series of his television show 'Now and Then' on UKTV Gold. The popular show sees him bring back guests that he interviewed on his BBC chat show, including 'Dallas' stars Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy. On his love of the Eurovision, which he presented again last weekend, Wogan said that they will have to "take him out and shoot him" before he gives up presenting the contest. And although he has thought of retiring at times, the 67-year-old has no plans to leave the airwaves any time soon.