Lots of Love for Lottie: Interview With Lottie Ryan

Lottie Ryan speaks to Claire Fox about women in the media and how she will always be proud of being Gerry Ryan’s daughter.Radio presenter, dancer, columnist, blogger and fearless fashionista. Over the years Lottie Ryan has managed to clock up a rather colourful career; a remarkable feat considering she is still only 27.Having worked as a showbiz reporter in RTÉ for numerous years, the brunette now operates the world of the wireless, with The Early, Early Breakfast Show airing on 2fm each weekend, the show which she fondly refers to as her “little baby” has been a huge learning experience for Ryan as, up until this point, she had never been solely responsible for anchoring a programme.“It’s a huge learning curve for me because I’m in there by myself. A lot of the stuff I would have done in the years leading up to the show, when I was doing contributor work, meant I would never be running the desks or the technical side of things,” says Ryan in her polished Dublin accent.While Ryan is now lucky enough to be at the helm of her own show, this can’t be said for all female broadcasters, with the radio business in Ireland generally being labelled as a ‘Men Only’ club. However, while the figures may prove this theory true, Ryan believes that the tide is turning in favour of women in the industry.

"While Ryan is now lucky enough to be at the helm of her own show, this can’t be said for all female broadcasters."

“I think there used to be a stigma attached to it but that’s beginning to change. There are some incredible female broadcasters to admire. Claire Byrne is an incredible broadcaster; closer to home, for me, Jenny Greene; Marian Finucane; and Ciara King is a fantastic new talent. We are coming up in the ranks and there’s much more even distribution than there used to be.”Although radio was something Ryan had admired, it was not always her prime passion in life. Training as a dancer throughout her childhood and teenage years, Ryan never considered working in the media as a viable career until commencing her college education in Coláiste Dúlaigh.“Over the five years I developed a love and a passion for the industry. It all blossomed from there and it was really my college years that refined it for me.”However, while college may have provided Ryan with the knowledge to survive the rocky seas of media work, her internship on the set of hit US series The Good Wife gave her the skills to thrive in the storm.“I think I learned more in the months that I worked on The Good Wife than I did in my five years that I spent in college. They work very differently than how we work over here. We’re a lot more lenient here, we have respectable working hours. But over there they eat, sleep and breathe their work; it’s really intense.” Considering Ryan is still so young and has conquered so much in her short career, I ask her would she ever move abroad to work again? Reflecting on the question for a mere moment, Ryan is practical in her approach:“I’d never say no. I’m very happy at the moment. I’m not silly, though, and if the opportunity presents itself, you should never close doors. I don’t know what the future will hold but I’ll always be open to travel. I’m still in my 20s but, for the moment, I’m very happy where I am.”Satisfied with her amiable answer, the conversation shifts towards the inevitable subject that is her deceased father, former broadcaster Gerry Ryan.  According to Lottie, her father “never encouraged or discouraged” her decision to enter the fickle world of broadcasting, preferring to support whatever made his children happy. With many critics constantly referring to Ryan’s famous paternity, I wonder does this ever come as a burden to Lottie’s own broadcasting work?“No, it doesn’t annoy me; I am who I am. I’m incredibly proud of my dad and I’m blessed to share his name and it will never be something that I’ll want to shy away from. But, obviously, at this stage in my career, I, first and foremost, want to be recognised for the work that I do and the broadcaster I am. While I am incredibly proud of him and in awe of his work, I’d like to be recognised for myself.”

"I’m incredibly proud of my dad and I’m blessed to share his name and it will never be something that I’ll want to shy away from."

While Lottie’s famous father was and is still a huge inspiration, her mother, Morah Brennan, is also a major role model, especially when it comes to the style stakes. Her mother’s “unique sense of self” is obviously something that Ryan herself has inherited. Shying away from trends and catwalk conventions, Ryan moves on to giving her most trusted beauty tip: “Always, no matter how late it is or how many drinks you’ve had, take your make-up off!”However she is not just a font of beauty advice, concluding on some career advice for college students:“You have to really need to do it [radio work]. It can’t just be a want. You have to really feel like it’s something you need to fulfil yourself. It has to be something you need to do for yourself, a passion inside of you.“You have to feel like it’s your calling in life because there are 100 people who will want your job. It’s a tough job but once you believe in yourself and have perseverance and keep going at it, anything is possible and anybody can achieve what they want.”