Socky, Dustin and… Mary! Ray D’Arcy looks back at his ‘best bits’

Ray D'Arcy is finally taking charge of a primetime slot on RTÉ One, with his new Saturday night chat show kicking off this weekend.

The radio and TV personality says his newest gig will feature "extraordinary stories from extraordinary people, comedy, and the big names… if Ryan [Tubridy] doesn't get there first."

Ahead of the launch of The Ray D'Arcy Show at 9.45pm this Saturday, the host took a look back at his "best bits," sitting down in a tux (as you do) to get a blast from the past.

Of course, it wasn't long before a very unwanted old friend – we'll give you a clue, he has a beak – dropped by for a surprise visit.

Ray started his career with RTÉ in 1990, taking over from Ian Dempsey on The Den, which at the time featured aliens Zig and Zag, natives of the planet Zog.

Socky and Dustin followed later, though Ray finished up his slot in 1998, going on to present the teen entertainment show 2Phat.

Other notable RTÉ gigs included Blackboard Jungle, You're A Star and four separate years as host of The Rose Of Tralee.

Having spent over a decade at the helm of The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM, the Kildare native quit in a shock move last year, moving back to RTÉ for a Radio 1 afternoon show.

With another stage in Ray's career kicking off this weekend, we're excited to see what he brings to the Saturday night slot.