'Uncomfortable' RTÉ receives 15 complaints after Tommy Tiernan asks Amy Huberman about sex life

RTÉ has received 15 complaints after comedian Tommy Tiernan asked actor Amy Huberman about her sex life on his chat show.

In a statement to sundayworld.com, a spokesperson for the station said: “RTÉ received ten emails and five calls from members of the public who were unhappy with the elements of the programme.”

While it was not specified which part of the show sparked complaints, unhappy viewers got in touch after Twitter users said they were left “uncomfortable” by Tiernan’s "awkward" question.

The 42-year-old, who is married to former Ireland rugby star Brian O’Driscoll, appeared on The Tommy Tiernan Show on Saturday night.

Speaking to the comedian, Amy discussed how she balances her work life as a mum-of-three, her Jewish ancestry, and how marrying a sportsman helped her to add discipline and routine to her life.

But things took a turn when Tommy changed the subject and asked the actor about her sex life, saying: “Without incriminating the people that we live with, I wonder could we talk about sex?”

After receiving a laugh from an embarrassed Amy, Tommy continued: “I’m much more interested now in intimacy and shared, physical space with my wife and sex can be a part of that."

“It’s not something you often hear Irish men in their 50s say, but it’s really important for me to be able to spend that time with my wife being physical intimate. But that’s not necessarily about sex.”

Amy replied: “And that’s that conversation dealt with.”

He then asked if her sex life is different now to how it was when she was younger before adding: “If it’s an unfair question, we can leave it.”

The Dubliner decided to answer the question, focusing more on the importance of human touch and loving the people around you, but viewers were outraged that she had been asked such an intrusive question.

A horde of people took to Twitter to complain about the interview and said it left them “cringing.”

One person wrote: “Hugely creepy interview from Tommy Tiernan last night with Amy Huberman as he questioned her about sex. She handled it brilliantly though.”

Another said: “Where did the shift in this conversation come from? Awk-werd. I'm cringing!”

While a third penned: “Tommy had a very rare misstep tonight with Amy Huberman and a question about sex. Awkward to watch but she handled it well.”

And another added: “V inappropriate question, poor Amy H. Trying to answer the question and she shut it down and he brought it up again, even though she didn't want to answer. Not nice.”