Irish TV presenter compared to Alan Partridge after awkward gaffe

Former Irish rugby union player turned TV presenter Tommy Bowe was left red-faced on Wednesday after he made a rather awkward gaffe on live television.

Bowe, who now works as a presenter on Ireland AM, was compared to Alan Partridge and David Brent after his co-host Clare McKenna started to introduce their next guest of the episode – writer Séamas O’Reilly, who was there to promote his memoir.

“Author Séamas O’Reilly was just five years old when he and his ten siblings,” started McKenn, but Bowe was stunned by the fact that O’Reilly had so many siblings and in a shocked, high-pitched tone said: “ten siblings?!”

After the interruption McKenna finished her sentence by adding: “sadly lost their mum.” Realising that he had just trivialised a very serious subject, Bowe let out a disappointed noise that we can best describe as an embarrassed sigh.

Unfortunately for Bowe, this didn’t go unnoticed and soon went viral on Irish Twitter.

The 37-year-old responded to one tweet by saying: “Oh sweet Jesus!!!”

Bowe try to amend his misdemeanour by promoting O’Reilly’s acclaimed book Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? and hoped that the writers and his siblings didn’t hate him now.

Thankfully it was all good when O’Reilly told him he was grand, but joked that he now had to buy 400 copies of the book, which Bowe seemed up for!

All’s well that ends well then – but a note to all TV presenters: you never go full Partridge.