The Plank – Redux
I was browsing through the Sunday Tribune yesterday when I came across an article.
Ken Sweeney had a wee follow up on the Plank escapade on the Late Late.
One interesting aspect of it is that the woman won three items – cash, a trip to Dublin and the infamous tickets. She won them, ergo they are hers. So, when The Plank tore up the tickets, he was tearing up her property. He now claims he is going to raffle them off. He is offering her tickets [which she wants] for sale. That would make a very interesting court case, and I hope she sues him.
Plank is still gobsmacked that there is a person who doesn’t want to go to his precious show.
As far as he is concerned, each and every one of us would sell our grandmothers for a chance to be in the audience.
The Late Late Toy Show is true car-crash television. We don’t want to watch, but it is so compelling in its awfulness that we have to watch. It has one of the highest cringe factors in the universe. We only watch to see Plank make an utter arse of himself yet again.
The Late Late Toy Show is Murphy’s Law in reverse – Everything will go wrong and at the worst possible time.
It is tacky in the extreme. It is one long advertisement for grossly overpriced useless toys that won’t last twenty four hours.
Yet Pat says “he is at a loss to understand why the woman had entered the competition”? Does he not realise that there was €10,000 at stake? Does he honestly think that €10,000 is a trivial thing compared to Late Late tickets? What kind of idiot is he?
He then goes on to say
“Tickets to The Late Late Toy Show are impossible to get. No one can buy them. There are people in PR who can get you tickets to Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration. They can’t get tickets to The Late Late Toy Show."
So The Late Late Toy Show is more desirable than Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration?
The Plank is more popular than Barack Obama?
Is there no end to this idiots ego?
I do hope he is reading this – it will probably finish him and he will have to resign – you’ll miss him when he’s gone!!
I’ve got two tickets to him being pelted with water balloons filled with dog piss, if anyone wants them.
I’ve watched the clip a couple of times now and I really think you’re overplaying the whole thing. I still think Pat handled it quite well. She was an ignorant, ungrateful wench but yes she won the prize fair and square. He even said he’d give the tickets to someone who would appreciate them. And remember it is live television. Jonathan Ross, Parkinson, Wogan et al only ever presided over recorded shows. And look how badly wrong someone like Ross got it, even with a pre-recorded radio piece. The Late Late is 2 hours of live television. Anything can, and invariably will, go wrong. Shit happens. Build a bridge.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people hate Pat Kenny and claim they never watch “that shite” but always happen to be, mysteriously, tuned in when anything happens. It’s like some form of voyeurism.
I’m not a Pat Kenny apologist. In fact I think he is grossly overpaid and a not very natural presenter of light entertainment. That said I still feel people who don’t like him will pick up on any trivial nonsense and make a mountain out of what should be a molehill.
If you don’t like the show, don’t watch it. Simple as that.
NoRocRoc:
I don’t watch the show, I only picked up on this event through this site.
I agree, she was an ignorant wench, but why behave like that? She could have kept her surly demeanor to herself about the tickets, she’d just won €10,000 for fuck’s sake!
However, Pat could have cut the whole thing short by leaving her on the line for a producer or researcher to handle, he didn’t have to act like a scorned toddler.
Two adults who had points to make and didn’t want to lose face.
But I personally don’t think he came across as a scorned toddler Maxi. He was even lighthearted about it. Well, in so much as Pat can be lighthearted!
Taking tickets from your jacket pocket and tearing them up is like saying, “if you don’t want to play with me, then I won’t play with anyone”.
He reacted badly and I’ll bet the voices in his ear from the sound box over the studio told him to pull himself together before he made an even bigger arse of himself.
NaRocRoc – Actually, I don’t watch the Late Late, and avoid the programme at all cost. However, on Friday night [as I stated] I caught the very end of it purely by accident.
I don’t think she was ignorant or ungrateful. Would people have been happier if she had squealed in delight? She said her thanks quite a few times, but didn’t provide the expected fawning. Pat’s reaction was wrong from the moment he made his smart crack to Charlie Bird. I think he handled it very unprofessionally and should be taken to account for it.
I do have a personal dislike for Plank, but that aside, I think he lacks the humour and empathy required for that job. He is completely lost when it comes to children and that is why he is utterly unsuitable for the Toy Show. I also think that for the job he does, he is grossly overpaid. He is certainly now worth the best part of a million.
I do agree with you Grandad about the Toy Show. Pat just isn’t cut out for it. It really should be independent of the Late Late and given to younger, more charismatic presenters who would certainly have more of a natural way with the kids and their problematic toys!
Getting back to the initial ticket issue and Pat… I wholeheartedly agree, humour and empathy are not his strong points and I did say I felt he was grossly overpaid. However you suggest he “should be taken to account for it”. Really? Is it that big a deal? When I first heard about it, having not seen it live, I thought it sounded a bit harsh to rip up the tickets. But having watched the full clip and his story afterwards etc I really think it’s hardly worth talking about never mind taking Pat to account. It’s only a very minor incident.
And incidentally the comments on that Tribune piece you refer to are quite divisive. About 50% think Pat was spot on and the other 50% come across as people who, like you, have a “personal dislike for Plank” and would lay into him given half an excuse, regardless of whether this ticket incident happened or not.
The Toy Show is a load of crap…
It’s embarrasing just to watch it, let alone being on it…
Is it just me or have two alluring girls appeared at the bottom of this page? One a brunette, the other blonde. They’re in a box, cut off at the nose but staring straight out at us.
Grandad?
Ah now they’re gone! Dammit.
Some Google Ad Syndication thing that went wrong methinks.
NaRocRoc – They’re back again. Google is trying to tell me something?
With regard to the way the issue was handled, I would call it as follows:
The viewer is someone to be respected. 99.9% of viewers are uncomfortable or intimidated by the thought of speaking on public television, and Plank should be aware of that. If the woman is shy and not very forthcoming then it is unforgivable for Plank to ridicule her [as he did to Charlie Bird].
A viewer may enter a competition for any number of reasons. As far as I am aware, there was no stipulation that she had to avail of the tickets, or even that she had to give a reason for entering. Boredom is as good a reason as any. If he had handled the business professionally, he would have asked her if she wanted to pass the tickets on to someone else [which, in fact, she did]. He had no right to tear up the tickets, and it was a terribly immature act that was done purely and solely to play up to the audience.
Despite appearances, I am a quiet person. If Plank phoned me at home, I would probably react exactly as that woman did – polite but reticent. We are not all squealers who go hysterical at the sound of Plank’s voice, but this comes across as rudeness to fans of the show, hence the comments on the Tribune’s site.
I know I like having a go at him, but he is paid to be shot at. I don’t think I’m overreacting on this particular issue though, as he was rude to a member of the public and acted like a rank amateur. As presenter of “Ireland’s Premier Chat Show” that is unforgivable.
To answer your question, no there is no end to this idiot’s ego.
Still, it brings to mind a much worse incident a few years ago when Gay ‘Ireland’s most patronising man’ Byrne was still hosting it. He rang the winner of a competition live on air and then started making smart comments about how she didn’t sound very excited to hear from him. Turned out her daughter had been killed in an accident the night before.
It was surreal, cringeworthy and compelling all at he same time.
Andrew – I remember that. As far as I remember, the woman had won a car, and the daughter had been killed in a car accident? In fairness to Gay though, he immediately apologised [profusely] and then spoke to her about her loss. I dread to think what Plank would have done under the circumstances.
You are a bit over the top with this one. She didn’t want the fuckin’ tickets, he tore them up, end of story. What’s the big deal?
After reading too many articles on this, it just seems to me that two ungracious people crashed into each other to the collective horror of a nation.
We might feel better about it if PK was paid a more reasonable amount: family caregivers work 24 hours a day and get €200/wk. Our priorities are f***ed.
TT – I don’t think so. She won the tickets. She said she didn’t want to go to the show, but she didn’t say she didn’t want the tickets. There is a difference. If I had won that competition, I would have wanted the tickets as I could then pass them on to someone who did want to go to the show.
Susan – A few people have labeled her as ungracious? I don’t know where that came from. She said thanks several times? I would feel better if he were paid a reasonable salary and was given a job to which he would be far better suited such as science correspondent or some such. He is not light entertainment.
You are splitting hairs. She clearly wasn’t interested in the tickets.
Although I agree the man is an ass. She was ungracious at best and a fuckin’ bitch at worst.
To fuel the real issue of the Plank thinking the tickets were the star prize and wonderful PR, I quickly searched all sites where event tickets highly sought after usually go on sale. The result in all cases;
WE’RE SORRY, NO RESULTS WERE FOUND.
Plank and his boss have no doubt done this exercise since the show, and no doubt will report back to Smyth’s Toys who are the main supplier. The LL Toy Show is an old Irish tradition dating back to a 2-channel TV era where a lot of parents used it as a babysitter, a lot of kids and parents found it an inspiration for the “call-off” of plastic crap from China [pre-online shopping] and a lot of viewers simply found the whole cringe culture of watching a grown man trying to be a kid an absolute howl.
With multi-channel TV and DVDs we don’t have to watch the tripe anymore. It, like Intervention Beef is not part of the staple Irish diet anymore. That woman has simply demonstrated that truth. And she was honest. She should be granted the right to rip up the tickets herself or do as she wishes with them. Simple!
Spaghetti Hoop, the Toy Show remains the biggest TV event of the year in Ireland, like it or not. Over a million in the ratings every single year, including last year. I wouldn’t bet against that happening again this time around.
And those tickets sites sell tickets that have general release. The Toy Show tickets aren’t actually sold. They don’t have a price as such. It’s more an invitation type event so sites like the ones you searched wouldn’t necessarily have tickets.
Which indicates, NaRocRoc that over 2 million don’t watch it. A percentage of that 2 million watch The Late Late regularly but skip the Toy Show. [I know loads of matured people in their over 50s and go to the pub/poker game/bingo that night]. Hence it’s not the greatest prize for all. But a prize of 10K is a greater prize for most. Sacrifice the tickets. Get it?
Replying to your reply, Grandad, when I followed your link to the Tribune article, several people really did say that she’d been the rude or ungrateful one. So I googled and found a few more discussions like this one, and people seem divided on Who Was Ruder Than Whom.
Personally, I feel that as host of the show, P had more of an obligation to behave with dignity and class, and that tearing up her tickets didn’t do a good job of it. But from a publicity point of view, it certainly got people talking about the Late Late, and you know that probably pleases the Bosses more than any display of graciousness would have. Sad.
Your argument is so well put Spaghetti yet I still don’t get it. Can you elaborate? Maybe develop the “matured people in their over 50s” bit?
I never mentioned anything about 2 million viewers. And I sure as hell would rather €10,000 over 2 Toy Show tickets. That I do get. But what’s your point?
You mentioned 1 million viewers NaRocRoc, were fans of the Toy Show. You are including children. Ireland = 4.1 million. That’s where I found my 2 million +.
Development: a lot but not all over 50s might watch the LL Show every week but have been known to skip it on Toy Show Night. Simply because they are not interested and the Santa thing is behind them. The words “matured in their over fifties” was, I hope, not a term that boiled your eggs. I am far from ageist!!
Fair enough Spaghetti. And don’t worry, there’s no eggs boiled here!
I’d never heard of him until your post. Do they really show toys on that show, or something? Who would care about that except kids who should all be in bed by then anyway. That sounds idiotic.
Sorry if this was addressed already, I’m too busy watching Letterman to read all the comments.
The woman who won the competition was from Cork so local blah radio was abuzz with this on Monday. She actually has a spiffy sense of humour and, like me, thought the commotion was absolutely laughable.
She also made the point that she would be taking the trip to Dublin and she would be accompanied by her mother, who is in her eighties and who is not at all interested in a toy show.
The hysteria this provoked in people is scary. I missed the show and by the time I got wind of the story I thought this woman had won the tickets, set them on fire, stuck a feather up her bum and flew off into the night screaming “Fuck you Pat Kenny, you plastic bastard!”
They’re tickets. To a TOY show.
Oh, and I hope she sues them too.
RhodesTer – Doubtless I’ll explain the programme in more detail shortly. It is bound to be a fiasco!
Sexy – It has certainly hit someone’s imagination! It has been in several of the national papers too. The image you create with your second paragraph is classic. That, I would love to see! 🙂