The format placed Ryan and celebrity guests in restaurants and hotels, designed to provide a more intimate setting than a studio.
Guests on Ryan Confidential included Ben Dunne who spoke of feeling like a "bloody eejit" for provoking the set up of the Tribunals,[5] Colin Farrell whose use of "salty language" prompted a large number of complaints despite an on-screen warning about the show's content [6] and Brian O'Driscoll who appeared replete with "interesting haircut" before an important Celtic League match for Leinster.
[7] The Irish Times critic, Shane Hegarty, said of an early interview with multimillionaire step dancer Michael Flatley: ``Gerry Ryan returned to the television screens again this week.
[9] The eighth and final series featured interviews with Conan O'Brien, Roger Moore and, Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.
A Ryan Confidential Special, in tribute to Joe Dolan, a past guest on the show who had died, was screened on RTÉ One on 24 March 2008 at 18:30.