‘I don’t think 2FM shared the same ambition as us,’ says Johnny B ahead of duo’s last radio show today

Johnny B O’Brien confirmed it was their busy schedule which stood in the way of them continuing their drivetime show.

While speaking to Tipperary Live ahead of their last show show, he said leaving RTÉ is “definitely the right move” as the duo from Tipperary will have more time to focus on their podcast and live shows.

"The lighter workloads may make it a little easier to leave tomorrow," O’Brien said.

"We’ll be sad to finish the show because we absolutely love working with our team, they’re brilliant. We’ve loved the listeners, people have been so good ringing in and telling their stories.

Today's News in 90 seconds - 31st May 2024

"But as well as it being sad, it’s also definitely the right move, we’ll have more time to put into the podcast and more time to prepare for our live shows, and they’ll all get better as a result.

"We were too busy with the podcast, and the plans we have for our own 2 Johnnies company. We executive produce other podcasts as well when we’re not on, when they’re being recorded in our studios in Cahir.

"We are very ambitious and we wanted to drive on the radio show, and I don’t think 2FM shared the same ambition as us. It’s hard to keep everything going, so we said we’d put our energy into our own universe," he added.

The comedy duo consisting of Johnny B O'Brien and Johnny Smacks McMahon have announced they will leave the station earlier this month.

Their departure announcement was accompanied by other popular 2FM presenters Doireann Garrihy and Jennifer Zamparelli announcing their exits.

The hosts of Drive It with the 2 Johnnies, which is the fourth most-listened-to radio show on 2FM, are due to present their last show later today.

Today also marks their new album release titled Small Town Heroes which is dedicated to characters within their hometown of Cahir.

After they wrap up their show today, they plan to embark on a world tour with their album, including the United States.

While speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Brendan O’Connor last week, they added that they are leaving RTÉ on “good terms”.

“The door is always open. You never know what will happen. I think we will be back on radio sometime,” they said, adding that they will feature on TV programmes on the broadcaster in the interim.

Johnny B said the success of their drivetime show might be because they brought something “a bit different” to the table at 2FM.

"When we started, the breakfast show was Doireann, then there was Jen, then Tracy, then us, Tara Kumar, and then Jenny Greene. All presenters from Dublin, and then there was us,” he told Tipperary Live.