Eamonn Holmes has paid tribute to Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne, following his death on Monday. The TV veteran passed away at the age of 85, and Eamonn shared a photo on Instagram of the pair singing on stage together, writing alongside it: "RIP Gay Byrne. Irish legend, talk show king. The broadcaster I always wanted to be. For the final time, goodnight." Fans were quick to pay their own respects in the comments section of Eamonn's post, with one writing: "He helped change the face of Ireland in so many ways – RIP Gaybo," while another wrote: "Rest in peace Gaybo – end of an era. A true gentleman." A third added: "Massive hugs to you today."
Eamonn Holmes paid tribute to Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne
Gay – known as Gabyo - was a leading broadcaster of his era and was an anchor of the Late Late Show. The TV legend was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and had been receiving treatment. He was married to harpist and broadcaster, Kathleen Watkins, and they had two children together. The Late Late Show announced shortly after Gay's death was announced that they would be broadcasting a special live edition of the show in tribute to him on Tuesday evening on RTE One.
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Eamonn himself is a popular TV presenter, and lights up the screens each Friday as he hosts This Morning with his wife Ruth Langsford. The couple make working on live television look effortless, but earlier in the year the dad-of-four revealed that they are always prepared for something going wrong. Talking to HELLO!, Eamonn said: You see, you are not prepared for when things go right, you are prepared for when things go wrong." He expanded: "And so therefore every day, the very nature of what you do there's always a crisis – everyday there is a crisis, be that the technology going wrong or the script or the guest saying the wrong thing. As a live presenter you are only one slip away, one word away, from dismissal all the time."
Eamonn presents This Morning every Friday with wife Ruth Langsford
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Ruth added: "As Eamonn said, I think the skill is that we make it look seamless. We always have someone in our ear 'look left, turn right' the skill is to make everything look seamless on air and to show that there are no problems, look all relaxed. I'm very proud that people think that about This Morning, that it is a relaxing, easy watch, as that is our job. My biggest thing is not laughing all the time. Eamonn makes me laugh all the time. Sometimes he pushes the boundaries and he does make me giggle a lot. Sometimes I lose it."
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