The Sun: ‘Gay would have been thrilled that BAFTA included him. But not only was he popular in Ireland, he had also worked in the UK on Granada TV where he interviewed The Beatles and Brendan Behan, on an evening show with colleagues such as Michael Parkinson.’He bravely opened about how he stills misses the man who was a mentor to him, telling the publication: ‘He leaves a big space.
Of course, I miss him very much.’Joe recalled how he was the one who was chosen to break the news of Gay’s passing to the nation and how he had the presenter’s voice in his head at the time.‘I did cry.
I started choking but I could hear Gay in my head giving out to me, saying, “Get on with it. Make the announcement. This is your job.”‘I could actually hear his.