Tony Blair: may visit Montrose

Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy is hopeful former British prime minister Tony Blair will be among his first guests when the chat show series returns on 3 September.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Tribune, Tubridy said he could not confirm that Blair would make the trip to RTÉ but "would be surprised if he wasn't [on the show]," adding that it was "one of my big, big asks" in terms of requests for guests. The presenter said he was intrigued by the former British pm. "There's potentially a great interview there," he said, citing Blair's role in the Northern Ireland peace process and in the invasion of Iraq as two obvious major points of discussion should the interview come through.

It would be a major coup for an RTÉ programme, as the broadcaster has been accused in the past of promoting its own presenters as guests and pandering to 'C-list' celebrity guests through its various chat shows.

The station is keen to maintain the 60% audience share Tubridy has secured since he took over in September 2009. His first show was the most watched instalment of the programme (besides toy shows) since Gay Byrne's retirement.

Meanwhile, the Irish Anti-War Movement said yesterday it planned to hold a major demonstration against Blair's visit to Dublin on 3 or 4 September.